Raijin no Ko
by x-ArcaneButterfly-x
Summary: Blood flowed freely from the cuts, her muscle, nearly all torn. But the power she harbored within herself was much like a goddess reborn. She glared at the man before her, with an abhorrence so deep, she promised vengeance. SasukeXOC
1. Nostalgia

**_Scroll I_**

**- Nostalgia -**

* * *

It was seven minutes past daybreak, the day full of sunshine and promise, as Koyuki Mikoto walked down the street of Konohagakure, the Village of the Leaves. The climbing sun was veiled behind a bank of cotton clouds, having the Konoha sky a blend of sulfur yellow, rust orange, and the purple of desiccated veins.  
The silhouette of the adjoining buildings provided shade from the sun. The day was so torrid that birds referred the bowers of the trees to the sun-scorched open spaces of the central Konoha sky; they sat silently in their leafy shelters, chirruping rarely and without enthusiasm. Dogs padded cat-quick along alleyways as hot as griddles. No man, women or child paused to see if an egg would fry on concrete, taking it as a matter of faith.

The mountains produced a dependable mild breeze, causing invisible rivers of wind though her hair, combing it out and sending the bright silver and ebony aflight.

An elderly woman was sweeping the brittle leafs and grans of sand off the ground, as she opened her shop for the day. She turned her attention to Koyuki with placid eyes.

"Good Morning Koyuki." She greeted.

Koyuki smiled in acknowledge. "Mrs. Yagami."

"Are you off to the Academy?" She politely inquire.

Koyuki nodded her head in reply, "Yes I am, tomorrow is the day of the genin exam."

"Well, I hope you pass the test to become a great kunoichi like your mother." Mrs. Yagami answered. Koyuki's smiled dropped only slightly, her byzantium purple eyes softening at the thought of her deceased mother.

"Thank you Mrs. Yagami, have a great day." Koyuki responded, waving as she continued to walk. The elderly lady waved back, and continued her sweeping.

Her feet shuffled brisky against the concrete surface, the torrid sun illuminated against her radiant skin. The Academy appeared infront of her sight, and she walked through the scarlet doors, up a couple flight of stairs, and down the empty halls. She walked to the shouji doors, and slid it open, to find the room deserted. It was no surprise, she was usually the first person to arrive to the classroom.

She walked to the second row, to the seat next to the window, and plopped down into the seat. She looked out the large windows to see sparrows sitting in their leafy shelters, chirruping with enthusiasm.

The sound of the door sliding open caused her eyes to gaze to the door. The renowned Uchiha Sasuke walked in; an enigma to the stranger's eyes, to an average person, he was considered a genius. Being one of the class rookie's, he had topped everyone in everything that had involved the ninja academy. He excelled tremendously at ninjutsu and taijutsu.

He was popular with the girls, because they never really bothered to hide the fact. They were constantly surrounding him. Offering him food, flowers, cards, books, weapons and various other things he'd found stuffed into his locker that she'd rather not think about.

Boys hated him for it. He, on the other hand couldn't care less.

But Uchiha Sasuke wasn't as perfect as others believed he was. Past his aloof and calm attitude, he was sealed off because of emotional damage. All because of one fateful night filled with bloodshed. All because of one man.

His dark onyx eyes gazed upon her, her violet eyes gazed back. His eyes seemed empty of emotions, but she knew deep within his emotions were hid under lock and key. Soon, her gaze returned to the window, and she watched the birds fly off.

She heard Sasuke shuffle to the seat next to her, but she did not acknowledge his existence, to caught up in her thoughts, with only one thing on her mind... only one thing that got her out of bed every single day for the past 5 years of her damned orphan life.  
The one thing that could bring back the life she knew before her pain, and could take away the numbness that had settled into whatever was left of her heart.  
And if she worked hard enough, if she did, if she excelled greater than any ninja that crossed her path, she could finally have it.

Yes, revenge.

For her own sake, and for the sake of her clan.

She looked at Sasuke; with his eyes partially closed, Sasuke did what he rarely ever thought of doing with other people around.

He dropped his guard.

The tightness in his shoulders ceased, his chin was resting on his folded hands. He even allowed his head to tilt a little bit to the left as he felt the breeze fanning at his cheek. How comforting this all was.

And before she could think, emotions she'd long wanted to forget, thoughts buried shallow, had seized her. Like a sudden gush, the feeling consumed her and her head dropped to stare at the table in front of her. The soft, chirping of the birds all around the village reminded her a little bit of that life she knew back when she had her family.

When she closed her eyes, she once again saw the walls around the Mikoto compound, so clearly etched in her mind, could imagine her grandmother feeding twigs into the blazing fire underneath the clay pots at the far end of the garden, hear the laughter of her father after her regular round of sake and the clatter of the dishes as her mother leaned over the kitchen sink. Always there were birds, sounding just as they did on this day, the soft repetitive chirping carrying on throughout the day.

A mixture of melancholic joy and painful sadness washed over her, and almost as if she wanted to deflect the memories, Koyuki abruptly turned over to one side and blinked at the direction of the trees.

Minutes later more students entered the room, they took their sit, and started to chat among each other. Sunshine, filtered through the interstices of the arching trees, through the translucent windows into the classroom. The light seemed to shimmer in time to the rising and falling music of the students conversations and laughter, and the moment seemed peaceful, idyllic.

"Move out of the way billboard brow!"

"You move Ino-pig!"

Unfortunately the peace was ruined with two strident female voices. Koyuki peaked one eye open in annoyance, and watched the two quarrel of who would sit next to Sasuke.

"I sit next to him, I was here first!"

"No I was!"

Koyuki watched Sasuke, he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

Truly, this was annoying.

_'Everyday it's the same fight, will it ever end? ' _Koyuki thought, feeling bad for the young Uchiha, yet couldn't help but curl up a small smile in amusement. Ino and Sakura's agrument escaladed and more girls joined the bickering, making Koyuki's ears ring in discomfort.

"Alright class, settle down and take a seat." Iruka-sensei told the class as he entered the room. In the end, Sakura won the battle and sat next to Sasuke, grinning and sticking out her tongue in victory.

Iruka-sensei stood in front of the class, with a clipboard in his hand, checking the role of students in class. He stopped and eyed the room, "Where's Uzumaki Naruto?" He questioned.

Koyuki looked out the large window, and eyed the Hokage monument, they were covered in vivid and colorful paint designs of swirls, boogers, and other nameless patterns.

"Look out the window Iruka-sensei, I think you'll find him." Koyuki stated pointing at the monument. Iruka walked over to the window and looked at the Hokage monument. He signed in great annoyance, and placed his clipboard down.

"I'll be right back class, behave until I get back." Iruka-sensei ordered as he walked out in frustration to find the trouble-making student. The classroom erupted with laughter.

"I can't believe Naruto."

"He's so immature, he needs to grow up."

"He's never gonna become a ninja doing that stuff all the time."

Koyuki just signed as they insulted Naruto. It was true though, he did need to be more mature in order to become a full-fledge ninja. But they didn't know why he would pull such pranks, but Koyuki understood him completely. He was a lonely child looking for acknowledgement, since he had no mother or father to raise him.

"Come on Iruka-sensei! Why do I have to be tied up for!" A obnoxious voice roared through the hallways.

"Because you wouldn't come quietly Naruto, now be quiet!" Iruka-sensei's voice rung in response. The door slid open as he dragged a tied up Naruto in the middle of the room. The students snickered at him, Koyuki just rolled her eyes.

"Tomorrow all your classmates will pass the final and graduate from the ninja academy, but the last two times you flunk every course you'd taken in the ninja arts." Iruka-sensei lectured Naruto, arms crossed. Naruto's just stared at the wall, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Sir, yes sir!" He sarcastically remarked.

That blew Iruka's tolerance bubble, he turned to the class, pointing his finger towards them, "Thanks to you Naruto, the class will now review the Art of Transformation!"

The class either moaned, slumped into their chair, or complained under their breath at Naruto. Koyuki didn't care, the Transformation Technique was simple. So the students lined up in front of the class, Sakura first. Iruka-sensei grabbed the clipboard and stood in front.

"All you have to do is conjure into a form that looks like me." He stated simply. Sakura nodded, forming her right thumb and index finger extended upwards, into the ram handsign, "Alright, hinge!" She transformed into Iruka-sensei, with a few missing details. Iruka-sensei wrote on the clipboard, "Transformed into me, good."  
Sakura transformed back into herself, cheering happily, "Yes, I did it!" She turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke, did you see that!" The boy just ignored her as Iruka-sensei said, "Next, Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura walked back into line as Sasuke stepped up, transforming into a more detailed Iruka-sensei.

Iruka-sensei looked up from the clipboard, saying, "Uh... Good." Sasuke transformed back into himself without a word spoken and hands shoved into his pockets. Iruka-sensei said as Sasuke stepped back, "Next, Mikoto Koyuki." Koyuki stepped up, she formed her first and middle finger upward with both hands with her fingers crossed. Iruka-sensei raised an eyebrow as she transformed into a flawless Iruka-sensei.

Iruka-sensei wrote on the board, "Perfect as always, Koyuki." He gave her an open smile, the flat horizontal scar that stretched out over the bridge of his nose twitched as the corners of his mouth pulled up. Koyuki transformed back with a small smile, walking at the end of the line.

"Next, Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka-sensei said, Naruto walked up, being scowled by his fellow classmates. He formed the ram signed, blue chakra danced violently around him as he spoke, "Hinge!" He transformed into a stark-naked female version of himself, with mists of smoke around his body.

Iruka-sensei unfortunately developed a heavy nosebleed. Naruto transformed back and laughed hysterically while pointing a finger at him, "Got'cha! That's my Oiroke no Jutsu!"

Iruka-sensei finally controlled his composure, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "CUT THE STUPID TRICKS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"

* * *

As soon as the class was done with the performance of the Transformation Technique, they all sat back down in their seats. Iruka-sensei spoke, "Now, we will proceed onto sparring matches, please follow me outside."

The class roared with excitement, and followed Iruka-sensei out the door. Koyuki couldn't help but smirk, sparring was her favorite thing to do at the academy.

The illuminating sun was solace against Koyuki's skin, and a soft breeze fluttered through the air. The class stopped when they came across a cool, grassy open field. The wind swept across the tall stalks, bringing with it the smell of sickly-sweet mountain flora and pine tree sap. Iruka-sensei stood before them.

"I will now call two students out randomly... Inuzuka Kiba... and Yamanaka Ino." Iruka-sensei spoke. The two came forward and stood across from each other at a lengthy distance, "Now, you two will battle to show me your fighting skills, I will be rate you on your skills. Just don't go overboard. This goes for all of you!" Iruka-sensei instructed the class.

"Ready... begin!" The two students battled, clashing their kunai's at each other simultaneously. The sound of metal clashing against each other echoed through the air as Koyuki's mind drifted off.

She looked at the bank of clouds rolling in, veiling the fiery sun behind them in a deliberate drift. The melody of the chirping birds rang through her ears, overpowering the sounds of the two battling for victory. She watched as several birds took flight from their leafy shelters, and into the sky above.

Soon, the battle was over, and Kiba stood victoriously, grinning with a cocky smirk. "That was good you two." Iruka-sensei spoke as Ino and Kiba walked towards each other, making the symbol of "harmony" and locked their first and middle fingers together.

"Next, is Uchiha Sasuke and Mikoto Koyuki, you're up!" Iruka spoke, the girls cheered and squealed for Sasuke as he walked forward, and the boys encouraged Koyuki as she walked forward as well.

"Go Koyuki-chan! Kick his butt!"

"Sasuke-kun! Don't lose to her!"

The boys and girls bickered about who will win, Sasuke and Koyuki just signed in anoyance. Koyuki raised her hand, "Iruka-sensei, I have a question."

Iruka raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"You claim that the students are chosen randomly, but how come Sasuke and I are always paired up?"

Iruka just smiled, "Just a coincidence I guess."

Koyuki deadpanned. "Uh-huh, sure it is..."

She stood across from Sasuke, formed the symbol of "combat" with her fingers and spoke, "Everytime we spar it's the same outcome, I win, and you lose. Will the cycle ever end? Will today be the day you defeat me, Sasuke?"

Sasuke glowered at her, "Hmph. I plan to." He stood in a stance as his hand reached near his kunai pouch, and the other also formed the symbol of "combat".

"Begin!" Iruka-sensei spoke sharply.

Suddenly the Uchiha threw the kunai at her, and Koyuki twisted her body towards the right, seeing the glint of steel shoot past her head.

Too predictable.

She focused at him as he ran forward a few feet, and then her head snapped in attention when he suddenly veered towards the right, closing in and knocking an elbow into her defensive forearm.  
Koyuki pushed herself lower to lessen the impact of his arm on her, and Sasuke took the chanced-opening that left her head vulnerable, flexibly swiping out a knee and aiming the back of his ankle right for the girl's jaw.  
She ducked sharply and Sasuke felt the tops of her silver hair graze along his calves as the kick made a perfect roundhouse.

Still, he'd squarely hit nothing but air and as soon as he landed on both feet again, Sasuke pushed out his arms, striking low for the next combination of moves.  
His hand almost touched the tip of her nose.  
And he would have felt the satisfaction, if the tensai-rookie hadn't suddenly lunged into a backflip and disappeared faster than he could blink.

Did she go left or was that a right?

He looked around for a moment, heart pounding in his ears as he caught the rustling around the trees to his right.  
It wasn't the wind.

His feet planted lightly over the ground as he moved his body into guard position.  
And his raven hair whipped out as he glanced sharply to the left, then the right.

He'd lost her.  
And he needed to be prepared for an attack.  
Without looking down, the boy reflexively reached sideways into his holster for another metal weapon.  
And then his stomach clenched with horrible panic when his fingers brushed at nothing but empty space.

"What-!" He pushed his face down only to find the bag of weapons gone and the bandage holding it, severed and dangling along his thigh.

His eyes jerked up, astonished with the reappearance of her narrowed violet stare in front of him.  
The sharp glint of a steel kunai from between her teeth caught his attention.  
It was his.

"You just looked away from the opponent." Koyuki mused in a low voice.  
The cold metal of his ninja stake pressed into her lower lip as she smirked, and then she slowly raised her hands in front of him showing him the shurikens he recognized were also his, wedged between each of her fingers.

How did she...

"Game over." Koyuki flatly stated.  
And the young Uchiha cringed as she threw the weapons sharply at the ground.  
Each star seemed to form a telepathic connection with the rookie's hands as they thunked one by one into the dirt in a clean horizontal line exactly one foot away from the tips of his sandals.  
His eyes widened even more when he noticed the distance between each shuriken.

A fair two inches of space between each weapon.

The thick kunai between Koyuki's teeth reflected the light of the afternoon sun as she took the weapon from her mouth.  
And then she looked at him, letting the kunai drop limply from her fingers to the ground where it fell lost in a patch of grass.

"That's amazing..." Naruto said, eyes softening with admiration as he gazed at his best friend.  
"... That's tai-jutsu." The girl muttered, turning away from Sasuke when she noticed the look on his face. The smoldering obsidians of his eyes.  
Oddly, it burned her, and she could feel the heat already consuming her face.

He more resembled his mother, really — the sharp, yet delicate placement of his features, his finely-honed, agile frame, even the way his lips were put together in that fine line.

And that blue-black, raven hair,

Koyuki still held vivid memories of the way it scraped and tickled across her chin and cheek when he carried her on his back.  
It still fell along his face in sharp silken bangs, but that wasn't where her gaze lingered.  
It was Sasuke's eyes that captivated her now - both the appearance of it and the embodied expression she found in it.

His eyes were no longer big and innocently curious, no longer shining with happiness at the call of her name. Years of hating Itachi, of being alone, of dealing with weathering solitude and unwanted independence had made those eyes harden gradually in malevolence.

He stood there, rigid, and confused, every molecule of his body fighting a battle he had lost. His clan name kicked in the mud along with the hopes that he could take his brother down.

Without so much of a blink or a sound, he had shot his body forward towards Koyuki.

Iruka-sensei scolded, "Sasuke!"

Her left arm ignited in an eruption of flickering whitish-gold energy.  
The pulse of her own chakra pushed up against her palm and she forced the crackling bolts down into the ground, the currents of energy shooting dangerously close to the ground.

In all honesty, Koyuki DID expect the current reactions of his body.

Without wasting a moment, the girl ducked sharply and felt his knuckle graze along her hair. With one hand, she extended her fingers and pressed them together, palm open, and jabbed her fingers below his breastbone, a vital weak point.

Automatically, both of Sasuke's legs buckled, his body surprising him with a now-lost control over his muscles. His knees hardened, paralyzed and the boy stumbled in agony.

Sasuke's gaze flickered up as he saw one hand quickly wrapped around his throat, crashing his body to the ground with brutal force.

Pain spreaded like a Japanese accordion fan from the base of his neck, across his back and both shoulders. Stunned by the ground-cracking force with which he'd been hammered, he felt as though his throat had been crushed, his oxygen was severed, his voice lost as he tried to shout in pain.  
He felt a skull-shattering headache creeping up on him, and it felt as though he could black out any moment. All he could comprehend was what was sure to a few hundred watts of electricity coursing through his body.

"Enough! Both of you!" Iruka-sensei erupted in shock of her cruel attack. Koyuki let go of his throat, and Sasuke coughed strenuously to catch his breath. His eyelashes were singed as were his collar and his bangs, and his eyebrows were smoking.

_"_Gomen, I guess I got carried away." Koyuki spoke softly, she offered him a hand, but he had snatched his hand back with an expression that was almost contemptuous. His sleek eyebrows snapped together as he tilted his chin at her. He pulled his body up, willing his shaking legs to stand.

Iruka-sensei cleared his throat, and announced, "Koyuki wins! Now both of you make the symbol of "harmony" and we'll move on..."

They walked towards each other, making the symbol of "harmony", and locked their fingers together.

Koyuki looked intently into his eyes. Her grip on his fingers tightened, and she pulled him closer, startling him slightly.

She spoke loud enough so only Sasuke could hear, "You are hotheaded, Sasuke. If you let your enemies taunts affect you emotionally, you will never defeat _him_."

The hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck rose in immediate reaction of her words, a reminder of his older brother.

Koyuki released his fingers after a moment, watching the way his body slowly stiffened from the waves of initial shock.

The boys in the background cheered for Koyuki's victory, while Sasuke's fangirls glared intensely at her. She wasn't fazed by their contempt, and walked back to the crowd, Sasuke followed shortly.

The boys huddled around Koyuki, congratulating and praising her victory.

"Awesome, that was so cool Koyuki!"

"Way to go, Koyuki!"

While the noisy and clingy girl's surrounded Sasuke, questioning him if he was alright. Sasuke ignored them, and looked at Koyuki with heavy eyes.

_'Next time... I **will** win.' _Sasuke thought with confidence. He rubbed his neck, trying to relax the aching and slightly singed muscles. His eyes lifted to her; Koyuki ignored the group of boys that surrounded her and past through them as though she didn't even acknowledge their existence whatsoever.

"Koyuki-chan?"  
She didn't even turn to Naruto's concerned voice.

* * *

Iruka-sensei dismissed the class shortly after the sparring matches, as Koyuki stepped out of the Academy, her mind was working out a typical training session plan.  
She would have to start with target and range practice, and then after that she would start with chakra control and combat tactics.  
Koyuki briefly thought about meditation, but decided it was only a waste of time.

She considered the most suitable training areas in the forest. Near the stream would be great, only there was a chance she would bump into her classmate at the academy, Hinata. Lately, she'd taken her training out of the Hyuga mansion and into the woods. She'd overheard her speaking in her usual soft, shy voice to her older cousin, Neji, about harnessing water as a visible medium to direct her chakra aim.  
She most definitely didn't want to risk getting soaked.  
In fact, she didn't want to even see anyone for the rest of the day.

_The clearing next to it would be perfect,_ she decided.

The day flew by as she trained harder with each passing minute. The anger inside fed her power and by the end of three hours, she had to struggle pulling out the shurikens that had been deeply embedded into the tree trunks, wincing slightly because of the two fingers on her left hand that had small, barely visible cuts.

As always, she had been excellent at walking above, below and around every single branch of the high oak tree near the edge of the clearing.

Before she could plunge further into chakra control training, the glint of a sharp kunai whirling through the air towards her broke her concentration. As the weapon shot towards her, she turned sideways, deflecting the shot with a knock of her fingers. The metal thudded heavily in a tree trunk.

Just as quickly, Koyuki dropped to the ground and snatched her ninjato from the scabbard, ready for an attack.

"Your reaction speed has improved."

Koyuki's eyebrows furrowed as she turned towards the source of the voice.

The long, olive-brown hair.  
The baggy, beige shirt.  
Ice-white, transparent eyes...

"Neji." Koyuki greeted, a small smile on her face.

* * *

"... You're getting better... Koyuki." Her senior, Hyuga Neji put down his kunai and eased from his traditional clan stance with a pant. The soft-hands technique which was wholly fatal and dangerous even in friendly sparring, didn't intimidate Koyuki in the least.

Ever since he'd seen the fluidity of her movement and the solid connection of her high kick with Lee's grasp during their times in the academy, and even more when he saw the girl's attack and defense technique during the competition with the Uchiha with such little chakra usage. He wanted it badly.

Him, Hyuga Neji, the pride of his batch back at the academy, a descendant of one of the most reputed clans in the Hidden Leaf. He had such a great reputation to uphold, and he wanted the privilege and honor of fighting with the best of the best. Namely, the Mikoto, who was a batch younger than him, but possessed all the same, a talent and breeding equally as impressive.

"Again." she said, that same smirk tugging at her lips.

Neji sensed the change in the girl, gave her a nod and walked over to the large clearing where Gai-sensei had instructed them to spar.

He bent his knees, set one foot just in front of the other, and stretched out his arms, his hands vertically positioned, his thumbs tucked into the palms. The stance of the Hyuga Clan's gentle-fist, Jyuuken.

Koyuki narrowed her eyes and her mouth twisted menacingly.  
Time seemed to slow, and if anyone had bothered to pass by the clearing they would most probably mistake the two shinobi for statues, frozen in their stance, one waiting on the other. Observing and gauging stance and power.

"Kai." Neji finally bit out. And Koyuki whipped out her sword, running towards the right and then veering sharply towards the left at incredible blinding speed towards her opponent.

After ten minutes, Neji's head was bent and he spat a wad of bloodied spittle at the ground. Koyuki was panting, face tensed in an expression of immense concentration. Her hand clutched at her aching stomach where the Hyuga had apparently blocked a chakra gateway. He noticed an immediate and dramatic decline in her speed.  
Her legs seemed to trip one over the other when she attempted to utilized Lee's hand-to-hand combat and speed techniques. It was nearly impossible to read his usually predictable body. Neji was enjoying the sudden flare of hostility Koyuki was giving him. This was how he'd always imagined battling the girl.

"Much better." The Hyuga said slowly, and his bandaged arm drew upwards to wipe at the blood staining his lip.  
Koyuki took the opportunity of her unguarded stance. One second and three ninja stars made their way between the fingers of her left hand.  
She flung herself into the air, sending the deadly, metallic weapons whirling towards Neji.  
The older boy's eyes flashed and the nerves around temples surfaced. He re-opened the Byakugan.  
With a backward slide, the Hyuga sent a line of dust shooting up in front of him and Koyuki heard three consecutive thunks that told her the sharp weapons had hit nothing but ground. She sidestepped her own weapons and ran into the kicked-up dirt in front of her.

She's switching tactics.

Neji watched as the younger girl came at him, hovered a few feet away and then completely disappeared, sending small particles of dust every which way from the sudden change in wind direction.

The Hyuga recognized the move, an evenly executed one despite the severed chakra gateway near her abdominal system. But he had observed this particular attack many times from his teammate.

Neji turned around, mid-way expecting the Mikoto to utilize his only blind spot, the portion of his back right between his shoulder blades.  
His mind worked, considering the possibilities. Was it a kick from the ground followed by the Goken?  
His Byakugan swept across the environment in its characteristic 359 degree arc.  
He had barely turned around when the pressure in the air above him forced his head up in alarm.  
_Above_!  
And he wasn't expecting it at all.

How clever.

The Mikoto had detected the Hyuga Clan's weakness for long-range battle and had decided to conjure attacks from the air.  
The Byakugan strained to observe the chakra system of the girl as she hovered in mid-flight for a moment above his head.  
A particularly high amount of energy was concentrated in her arms and across her chest. It fueled a deep whitish-gold as the chakra increased in power.  
The girl was forming a series of complicated hand seals faster than Neji could catch.

The Hyuga's eyes widened and the bulking nerves that surrounded his eyes sharpened just as the final seal pressed close to Koyuki's mouth, which at the moment, was starting to part.  
The younger girl's eyes flashed with a hint of red, and then the color died away into the blackness and all Neji could see was the very evident formation of her hand — the tiger seal.  
"K'so." Neji cursed under his breath and he tensed as the anticipated, dreaded words rang out from the Mikoto.

"Katon: Karyū Endan!"  
A howl of deafening sound slammed at the Hyuga and in a sudden burst of orange flames, Neji's surroundings were engulfed in heat that scorched the blades of grass and nipped at the edges of his clothes.  
Neji slid his feet apart, gathering chakra, in his mind's eye he could see the glowing green of the yin-yang ripples, the ancient symbols passed on from the branch house generation to generation that identified the range and kind of attack appropriate for that distance.  
"Kaiten!" In a whirling flash of bluish-white that formed a protective dome of energy and air, the boy deflected the flames that threatened to lick at his arms and feet.

In a twist of limbs, the silver-haired girl stayed suspended in the air. Neji spun to a stop and his face snatched upward just in time to see the Mikoto disappear yet again in an etch of disintegrating lines.  
A rustle to the tree a few feet away, and the Hyuga's Byakugan caught it.  
The glint of a sharp shuriken whining through the air towards his shoulder.  
His mouth twisted into a strained smirk, and as the weapon shot towards him, he bent sideways, deflecting the shot with a knock of his fingers in the mild way that was the specialty of the clan. The metal thumped heavily into the grass.

Just as quickly, Neji had snatched a kunai from his own holster and thrown it at the tree where he suspected the Mikoto was concealed.  
It slammed into nothing but bark.  
Koyuki was no longer there.  
And Gods, the Mikoto was fast. Neji so loved a challenge.  
From a few meters away, Koyuki crouched, a slight smile tugging animatedly at her mouth.

It was a long fight that stretched out for more than thirty minutes.  
Koyuki dropped to the ground, panting harder now. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to drag in mouthfuls of needed air, fighting against the burning tightness of her chest.  
Her hands spread out at the dirt beneath her and sweat was trailing down her neck towards the inside of her shirt.

The older boy landed a few feet away, and a moment passed that Neji remained standing before his knees finally gave way and he knelt into the grass.  
The Hyuga turned his head slowly towards Koyuki, his limbs throbbing, his heart beating in frenzied thuds.  
It was difficult to breathe. Two blows to his ribcage, multiple leg-sweeps that brought him down on his back. A ninja star barely missing his left leg. Neji considered all this as he struggled to inhale. Clearly, the Mikoto was never to be underestimated.

"That was... a good one." She said, swallowing gulps of air together with her broken sentence. Then Neji gave her a rare smile that spoke of his silent admiration of the younger class rookie. The girl gave Neji a once-over as she heaved.

"Almost can't move my arms and legs. I can't form seals."

"Irregular flow of chakra, it's like disarming your muscle function. I made sure you wouldn't pull that goddamn fire at me again."

Neji sucked at the cut on his inner lip and spat another bloody mess at the ground. He gave the younger girl an approving look.

"How long will this last?" Koyuki asked him, cradling her lifeless left arm in her aching right.

"Not very long."

"Good."

The two remained on the ground. Five minutes passed, and slowly their panting eased down. Koyuki collapsed into an Indian sit, and locks of her hair slid towards her face as she slumped, wearily.  
Neji was equally exhausted, and he stretched his legs out, cringing as the cut on his left calf burned.

"You'll be going home anyway. Sleeps all you need." The transparent lavender of Neji's eyes glowed as he gave Koyuki a glance. The girl pulled her knees up, willing her stiffened muscles into motion.

"I'll tell Gai-sensei, we've finished." Neji said slowly. The boy was tempted to open his Byakugan to study Koyuki's chakra signature. But from the earlier fight, he already knew that it was undeniably the Mikoto he was sparring with.

It was almost as if Koyuki had not been in a fight at all, she blew a lock of hair away from her face, the stark white of her shirt looked as pristine as when she stepped out of her home that morning. She turned to leave.

Koyuki raised a hand of departure at Neji without looking back. She ventured out into the town, making her way towards home.


	2. Rekindled

**-_ Scroll II -_**

**- Rekindled -**

* * *

Sasuke sat up and blinked into the darkness. Something had awakened him. Was it remnants of another one of his occasional bad dreams? Sitting upright, he waited for his eyes to adjust, steadily focusing his gaze on pale, gray shadows stretched out over the corners of his wall. His half-eaten ramen sat forgotten on the bedside table to his right.  
He was about to pull the blankets away and dispose of the plastic cup when he heard it.  
_Thump._

Before he'd even drawn a breath, his fingers were already pressed together, holding the two newly-sharpened shurikens he'd snatched up from his holster.  
_Thump. Thump._  
His mouth pressed into a thin line as he realized it was only the door. Someone was apparently knocking. Abruptly, his eyes jerked to the digital clock on his bedside table. The luminous numbers read 11:45. Knocking at midnight, how odd.  
His eyes narrowed and he turned his head towards the direction of the door.  
Soundlessly, his feet hit the floor and he padded over to the entrance hall, wishing for the umpteenth time that he had a peep-hole.  
A high clinking sound made him stop dead in his tracks.  
His blood ran cold and the hair at the back of his neck bristled.  
His brother. Itachi.

The acceleration of his heart was incredible, with all his senses heightened, he was wide awake. His chest was seconds from bursting. He could feel the steady thrum of hatred, and the rush of utilized chakra pulsing and aching, gathering throughout his body. He wanted to run away, to hide, but so vividly he imagined plunging a kunai deep into his brother's gut, till it pierced all the way through to his back.  
He savored the thought of seeing the kunai disappearing into flesh so soft and yet so solid at the same time.  
The thought was exhilarating and the feeling was a pendulum swing that made him want to throw up all over his floor and smash the door down at the same time.

Straining to hear through the cracks in the wooden planks, Sasuke held his breath and listened. No sounds greeted him.  
And Sasuke's jaw unclenched as the muscles of his body relaxed considerably.

He heard the sound of dead weight landing over wood rather loudly. The sound that would most likely resemble a body dropping to the ground.

_The hell?_ He thrust his hand forward and twisted the doorknob, shoving the door open rather violently.

One foot came before the other, Sasuke side-stepped the door and turned with a fixed stare to whatever fell down.

Red.  
That was the first thing he saw.  
And silver hair with highlights of ebony.

"Koyuki," Sasuke's voice came out hoarse, partially from confusion and from just having spoken his first word out of bed. He rubbed at his aching temples as he continued to stare down at the unconscious heap curled up on the ground.

Cuts and bruises constellated all over her visible skin, smears of dry blood marred her clothes, and fresh blood oozed out of her rather profound lacerations.

His eyes narrowed and his mind worked rapidly to make sense of the situation. Had she mistaken his home for hers out of fatigue and disorientation? It seemed to be the most reasonable explanation.

"Koyuki?" Crouching, he recalled his lesson in the academy. With his hand, he placed two fingers against the side of her neck. Feeling nothing, he moved his fingers. His brows furrowed slightly, realising she didn't have a pulse. He gripped her shoulder and turned her onto her back.

"Kuso." He hissed, swallowing his apprehension he placed a hand over the left side of her ribs, searching for a heartbeat. Starting to feel slightly nauseous and fearful he placed his hand back over her heart. His own heart started to race.

He blinked slowly when he realised the soft patter of a heartbeat against his hand, the racing of his heart immediately fading. But he could have sworn there was nothing but a second before...

His arms reached out, and he slid underneath her, pushed himself and her off the floor.

Surprisingly, she was lighter than she looked.

Seconds passed, when Sasuke continued to stand outside his door. The wind rustled the trees and he felt a chill brush up his spine. Her hair tickled his chin, and as he glanced down, he saw that Koyuki's eyebrows were drawn together in a reminiscing image of unsettled pain.

He settled her down on the couch. With steady arms he shrugged her weight off and let her head press against the armrest.  
He unfastened her arsenal of weapons, unraveled the bandages and placed them on the cocktail table.

Beside her Sasuke only stared at her, his thick eyelashes framing the solid shine of his onyx eyes. After a moment he let out a frustrated sigh and straightened, his face tempered with a slight air of annoyance.

He stood up, went down the hallway, and snatched a clean rag from the bathroom. Soaking the rag with warm water, he ventured back to the living room, and gently dabbed and rubbed the blood off the lacerations and cuts on her skin. After the cleaning the wounds, he bandaged her, wrapping neither too tightly or too loose.

The glow of the moon flooded down like a curtain of grace towards her sleeping form, settling over her closed eyelids. Strands of hair clung to her moist forehead. Her eyelashes settled like feathers over her cheeks, her pink lips were softly stretched out in the hidden traces of a peaceful smile.

He steadied onto his knees... without the realization that he was holding his breath.

His eyes wandered over to her delicate features, and he ached to put his hand over the planes of her skin, to feel the smoothness and warmth radiating from it.

His skin now tingled with a foreign sensation he could not place, could not recognize, and a rolling warmth crept up to his neck, spreading out over his cheeks.  
If Sasuke knew what a blush felt like, he supposed this would be it.

_What if..._

Her hair smelled faintly of blooming flora, and a distant memory came to him. A time when he had crossed the field of flowers sometime during spring on the way to the academy and he had seen her, Koyuki, laughing, her eyes sparkling in the sun as Ino tucked a flower into her hair.  
He'd only given them an indifferent glance, and moved on. But now, his mind's eye saw the vast shower of yellow and silver that swayed with the wind. Petals floated past his face, and the smell, much like her hair now, was everywhere in the air around him.

_What if he..._

Indignant reasoning started to erupt inside him, but something else brushed it aside. Instead, he brushed his hand against her hair blanketing her face, and tucked it behind her ear. Her head jerked against his hand. His obsidian eyes softened, and his tense body relaxed.

The other person inside him, the one that struggled to push away this girl as far away from him as possible, now seemed miles away.  
The darkness helped, fed him illusions that convinced him this was okay. His head sunk lower, his face mere inches away from hers. He felt his own hot breath in between the small gap separating them.

What was this dull ache in his chest? He found it suddenly difficult to draw his breath.  
He felt her move against him and suddenly he could not breathe at all.

He couldn't.

His defensive self, wanted to tear himself away from her.  
Because he knew that the moment his hand pulled away from her, he would be left with pain.  
And he was so very tired of pain. He was tired of feeling lonely, of people loving him and then leaving him.  
But even as his whole body stiffened, waiting for the inevitable, felt that he could not.

_No. This wasn't right. This wasn't him._

It took every ounce of his remaining will power to pull himself away from her.

Too quickly, he felt the separation cut into him as sharp as any pain.  
The warmth of her skin, her touch, was gone.

Raven-hair fell across his face as Sasuke looked somewhere to her left, the frantic beat of his heart slowing to a notch above steady thumping. His old person was slowly crawling back into his mind, how he despised that fact.

He looked down at her then for what seemed like an eternity before silently turning his back.  
Slowly, he made his way, barefoot, towards the window.

He stood near the window for what seemed like hours, trying to deal with this new kind of hurt that was eating him from inside.  
His mind was too exhausted and muddled to even deal with the complicated emotion.

And after a few moments, he expelled a sound that was something between a sigh and a groan.  
He was so tired.

Making a mental note, he pushed his thumb into the doorknob lock, heard the click and made his way back to his bed.

A few hours later, even as he caught the first rays of the sun from the balcony, he realized the futility of trying to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see the darkness and feel the warmth. Reach out mentally and catch at escaping strands of soft, silver and ebony hair.

His forehead furrowed, and he buried his nose into the black silken pillow nearest to him.  
One eye peered out from behind his jet-black hair.

_What was happening to him?_

* * *

There was a red sky above her.  
Its presence was a dead weight that seemed to ride the tops of her shoulders, press along her spine with pressure, cut off her breath.  
She forced gulps of air into her lungs, but the weight around her only squeezed back, pumped the ample breaths from her chest, out of her open mouth.  
She gagged. And felt her knees collapse into a ground that felt strangely, like it wasn't there.  
Koyuki was scared.  
Terrified of whatever it was happening to her body.  
She forced her eyes to look forward, and her vision took in the cracked earth, the small pebbles that lay ahead. She could see the moist strands of her bangs trembling, close to her nose.  
And then, her nerves prickled in warning.

Before she knew it, she felt tight limbs winding around her torso, pressing into her stomach, pulling at her. Dragging her backwards.  
_No!_ She tried to shout out. Her hands balled into fists as she willed the energy to mount inside her, and she kicked out with her legs, fighting against the force. But her sandals anchored into the soil only for a moment before she was tugged backwards again.  
Now she wanted to close her eyes badly.  
They grew heavier and heavier with each moment and she was tired - so very tired of fighting, of struggling, of living.  
_Let's end it.  
Just end it all. Take it all away._

There was a soft chuckling, raspy, cold, emotionless.  
It came from all around her. And Koyuki knew immediately who it was.  
The sound was only so very familiar. The iciness of it trickled up the back of her neck, and dug in.

The pain came. Blinding, sharp, too much all at once and Koyuki lost all sense of thought as it paralyzed her.

Was it her crying out now? Was that her voice? She didn't know anymore.

The darkness was closing in. Clouds of swirling black, spiked in a temperature that froze her bones.  
Maybe stopped her heart.  
And she cried out, the force of it scratching into her throat.  
Felt the sting of warm tears brimming in her eyes.  
This pain was too much.

_End it!_ She shouted in her mind.  
_Just let me die. I...just can't stand-_

The chuckling cut her thoughts off, grew louder, taunting her, mocking her.  
And through the hazy cloud of her vision she saw them.  
The eyes — eerily crimson, with swirling black tomoes that were sharp, piercing into her soul.

Then the voice came - that unique, calm, grinding whisper that made her shake.

"This is power. This is what you seek."

"Itachi..." she heard herself rasp, surprised she could even remember the name amidst the mind-blowing pain hacking at her every limb.

"Koyuki-…chan. Come to me."  
The charm of that entrancing, yet heartless voice scraped like the tips of cold, sharp nails along her arms.  
The blackness wove in and out of her, and she drifted, slipping towards and away from consciousness.

"Wh…at…" she whispered weakly, and the last of the word erupted in a throaty retort as the pain exemplified even more.  
Impossible.

Her head hit the ground, and this time she could feel it. Solid.  
But the thud of her head was numb compared to the knives that ground into her nerves and muscles.

"Koyuki-chan. Come." The same voice murmured, almost delightfully. Taking pleasure in the way the girl lay sprawled on the ground, writhing only slightly, half-past-dead.

"Just kill me." She muttered bitterly, not bothering to move - swallowing the scratchy burn in her throat.

"Koyuki-chan... Koyuki-chan..." the voice repeatedly slurred, echoed.

And then force shook at her shoulders. Shook her till his head lifted from the ground.

"Koyuki..." that voice was fading.

She didn't bother answering.  
This quiet calm surrounding her, she could feel nothing, see nothing, but it felt wonderful.

A part of her knew it was death. Just subconsciously already knew.

But the force continued to grip at her shoulders.

"Koyuki!"  
Still there. The voice.  
"Oi! Koyuki!"

Her thought processes were muddled, but she knew that voice.

Then she felt tingling all over her body, and the sense of being able to feel returned, bleeding into her like a dead-weight coat.

But her mind was blank. And she was slipping away again.  
The numbness was starting to come.  
Again.

"Breathe!"  
Something hard smashed into her chest, and the impact caused her to recoil with a slight choke. Her head arched back and her mouth parted in a sharp intake of needed breath.  
So suddenly the rush of life came back and filled her, she gasped again, panted, heavy and audible. Her heart thumping loud, alive in her ribs and in her ears.  
The blood coursed through her veins, and she felt the consciousness descending around her, muddled, together with the thumps of a headache.

Her shoulders were moving again.  
Hands. Koyuki immediately knew.

A pair of hands were shaking her.

"Koyuki! Wake up!"

The sound jerked her eyes open, a blur of ebony hair, blue clothes... bright lights... and Koyuki found herself dizzily trying to focus into deep oceans of onyx.

"Sas...uke." She whispered breathlessly.

Groaning, the Mikoto put a hand to her pulsing shoulder blade, waiting for the room to slowly come into focus as she tested her weight on one elbow. Koyuki's chest ached dully. It was incomparable to her pain only moments ago, and the girl soon brushed it aside as the thoughts tumbled into her mind.

"What...?" the girl said hoarsely. "What happened? What am I doing here?"

"You collapsed unconscious in front of my door at midnight."

"... I what?" Her voice trailed off, a small blush staining her cheeks, "I-... I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Don't apologize, it was an accident." If he wasn't in such a predicament, he would have laughed at the way her face seemed to inspect him. Koyuki's arms pushes out beneath her and she pulled her upper body against the backrest.

Her muscles felt like lead, and her breath came in tight puffs. She raised her eyes to his, "Why were you shaking me?"

"You stopped breathing, and you wouldn't wake up." He said quietly, his ramming heart against his chest calmed to a steady thump, and the familiarity of the pain he had felt last night was fading.

Her eyes slowly traveled towards the floor, "Oh..."

And then as if he had not said anything at all, he proceeded towards the direction of the kitchen.

"Drink?" He asked her, his tone sounded like he could care less, yet he spared her a glance. She nonetheless gave him a small smile, and nodded. Chivalry wasn't dead, if he didn't have so much discipline, he would probably kick her out of the house without sparring any pity.

Sasuke brewed a citron green tea blend, and sipped half the first cup while standing at the counter, then refilled it and filled another cup as well. In front of her, the Uchiha was holding out a jade cup with fragrant citron-tea steaming from within it, towards her.

For a second, the Mikoto didn't move, and then her hands stretched out and she took the cup with a nod of thanks. Sasuke slumped into couch next to her.

Koyuki and Sasuke sipped their teas in silence.

A long silence ensued wherein the girl retreated into her thoughts.  
Really they were too much alike. Both naturally quiet, thinking much more than actually speaking, both just a little too proud and very stubborn. In a way, they didn't have to talk to learn about each other. They already shared a lot of common ground.

_Too much common ground in fact. _And her eyes cradled a blend of hesitance and the worst kind of sorrow. Now she was remembering, the warmth, the bonds of friendship they shared before Itachi took away everything, and destroyed their lives. He took away their happiness, their family, hopes and dreams. All for what?

_"To test my capacity."_

With newfound rage she found herself crushing the jade cup within her hand, cracks splintering across the rim. The Uchiha caught the set jaws and hardened look in the girl's eyes.

Setting her cup down, Koyuki stood up and looked with downcast eyes at the Uchiha.  
After a short pause, the Mikoto's expression changed.  
"Thanks... for everything Sasuke." She said, that same smile tugging at her lips.

Sasuke's eyebrows drew together, he sensed the sudden change in the girl, but nonetheless gave her a nod as Koyuki grabbed her arsenal of weapons, bandaged and fastened them around her hip, thigh and back.

"Leaving?" He asked, the twin orbs that shone like black marbles were luminous as he shook offending strands of raven hair away from his face and moved to stand up.

"Well of course, I'd like to get a shower and change of clothes before the exam."

He made his way towards the door. But before he could reach out to the doorknob, she had snatched it.

"Since when have you been so courteous?" She suddenly said and her violet eyes seemed to pierced straight through him.

"What? You don't think I'm capable of being nice?"

"It's not that..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes looked everywhere but directly at him, "... it's just exceptional to see this side of you, a side that I haven't seen in a very long time."

He wondered what she meant by that, before he could form the words, she was already gone.  
One last whiff of her fragrant hair, as fleeting as the recognition that for a couple minutes of his life, he had experienced happiness.


	3. Flames to Dust

**_- Scroll III -_**

**- Flames to Dust -**

* * *

Koyuki didn't know how long she stood there in the shower, hair clinging to her nape and face, droplets of water hitting her shoulders, and the tiles below her. Soap foam brushed along the sides of her feet and she slipped one lean leg forward, letting the hot water wash away the remaining bubbles that clung to her knee and thigh. For a moment longer she studied the pattern engraved into the marble in front of her, and then she reached up and twisted at the metal knob, feeling the slow rush of air from beyond the bathroom as the water stopped falling.  
Wrapping a royal-blue towel around her breasts, she stepped out, head tilting up to gaze across the light fixture as she stretched an arm back to loosen her muscles.

Her mind was as always, a silent, busy whir of clicking thoughts that never ceased.  
Whenever she woke from the nightmares, her chest always ached, as though her heart had been bruised from hammering too hard against her breastbone. Sometimes the shakes took hours to fade away completely, and she often had headaches that, like now, arced across the top of her skull and throbbed with such power.  
The familiar coolness of the floor under her pressed into the soles of her warm feet.

The long shower refreshed her and she selected her clothes from the closet. After slipping on a pair of loose black capri pants and a black short-sleeved shirt, she harnessed a white armor tank top above the shirt. She strapped on her black ninja sandals and fingerless black gloves with metalguards, and a titanium metal plate arm guard on her right forearm.  
Lastly Koyuki strapped and fastened her ninjato on the left side of her hip, and her tanto strapped horizontally on the small of her back, secured just above her weapons pouch.  
She looked at the bedside clock. Seven-forty-five in the morning. She had fifteen minutes until the genin exam, and the Ninja Academy was all the way across the village.

Koyuki wasted no time darting through the front door, pushed the door shut behind her before she forced a run through the Mikoto Compound. The street in front of her was quiet, save for a fruit vendor on one side and a tool-sharpener on the other. Her stomach let out a grumbled that was unearthly and she realized she was famished. She turned the corner and thought about buying an assortment of fruits from the vendor, seeing it was more convenient than stopping by a market.

Koyuki quickly purchased two mandarins, one peach and a four ichigo daifukus.

The trees weren't many along the streets of Konoha, and to cut around the twists and turns of alleyways for urgent business, the Hokage had long ago allowed the shinobi to leap over rooftops if it meant cutting travel time in half.

She instinctively gathered some chakra under the soles of her feet and leaped up to a particularly high penthouse. Koyuki looked across the landscape of the village, and leapt across a chain link fence ontop the building, hurdling on to the neighboring penthouse, to the academy.

The sun was rising properly now, and the streets outside began to wake up. Koyuki watched two sleepy men open up their respective shops as she jumped from building to building.

Koyuki had arrived ten minutes later, short of breath, but satisfied. She dipped her head against the shove of the wind and pushed her body towards the main entrance, the class was on the third floor, she reached the stairwell and took two steps at a time, ignoring the complaints of her body.

After pulling the classroom door open, she realized that she had arrived just in time. Koyuki eyed Iruka-sensei in the front, clearly about to start the exam.

Koyuki's face looked up to his, eyes flickering, weariness radiating from her even when the teacher saw, she was trying valiantly to look almost unaffected.

"Ah-", the chunin's eyebrow rose in greeting.  
"Long walk?"  
Koyuki ignored the attempt at humor. She was just too exhausted.

"Please take a seat, Mikoto-san."

She was more than happy to oblige. After taking a seat next to the bubbly and energetic soon-to-be ninja clad in bright orange, she open her bag with the assortments of fruits and began eating.

"Psst! Koyuki." The boy with corn-silk hair and the eyes like the clear blue sky uttered under his breath. Koyuki turned her attention to Naruto.  
"Why are ya late? Usually your the first one here."

Koyuki swallowed the chunk of peach she bit off and spoke, "I lost track of time, plus I got some breakfast on the way."

The orange-clad boy nodded profusely, and pointed with one finger, "And the bandages?"

"Training."

"Uh-huh." the boy answered quietly as his eyes narrowed into slits.

Iruka-sensei spoke to the class, "For your final exam, you must each generate three clones. When you are called, come to the next room."

Koyuki's shoulders slumped, and signed under her breath. Honestly, couldn't they have something a _little _bit more challenging than just simple clones?

Nonetheless, each student was called into the next room, and each has received a hitai-ate.

"Mikoto Koyuki!"

She stood up and proceeded to the next room, where Iruka and Mizuki-sensei resided to examine the performance of each student's clones. Koyuki stood in the middle of the room.

"Please generate three clones in order to pass." Iruka-sensei instructed.

Koyuki nodded, she formed her first and middle finger upward with both hands with her fingers crossed, the hand sign for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

A swirl of smoke circled beside her as three shadow clones appeared lightly beside her, each one flawless.

Iruka-sensei gave her a open smile, "Congratulations, you pass."

He held out a hitai-ate in front of her. Her hand stretched out and clutched the hidden leaf forehead protector within her hand. Her cheeks pulled into a dim smile, and she placed the metal plate across her forehead, and tied to fabric into a tight knot.

She bowed to both Iruka and Mizuki-sensei, and left the room, closing the door behind her softly.

* * *

On his way back home, Sasuke was blockaded by the graduating students and their close family members. He lingered about, trying to pass through or passing enough time to then pass through, be upon hearing the congratulatory comments, seeing the pats on the shoulder, ruffles on the hair, and hugs.  
His dead parents never gave him that kind of love and affection. Only one member of his family ever did. Except now, that person, his brother, was also as good as dead to him.

He decided to go the short way home.

Upon passing the aged swing set near the Konoha Ninja Academy, his heart suddenly plunged all the way to his stomach. Just beside the tree stood the last person he wanted to see. Or at least what his mind vainly tried to tell him.

The sun reflected over the tops of her bright, silver and black hair, as she looked down at her sandals.

In one moment, everything that happened last night came crashing down over his head.  
The stubbornness in him that he had only lately discovered forced his legs forward, even if a part of him wanted to be anywhere else but near her again.

He stopped in front of her, in his usual casual stance with his hands in his pockets.

"Koyuki..." the raven-haired boy's tone of voice, caused the kunoichi to raise her head and her eyes softened with a mix of various emotions Sasuke could not place.

To the girl's curiosity, the Uchiha gave her a brief look that held none of the usual hostility or flashing intimidation he gave to everyone else. Koyuki's eyebrows rose in confusion.

Sasuke still had that meaningful look on his face when he slowly turned away.  
The kunoichi's violet eyes followed the boy's steady, even steps before they once again slowed to a stop and Koyuki waited for something else to come from the boy, her gaze swept over the clan logo on the prodigy's back. The voice startled her.  
"Have you had lunch, Koyuki?"

The girl's lightly-etched eyebrows drew together and she studied her classmate's back for a long moment. "No..." she slowly answered, "I haven't replenished my stocks at home."  
Sasuke finally turned around to face her, and as the wind whipped past his hair and nipped at his clothes, Koyuki once again saw the quiet beauty of the boy. His presence was silent, yet radiated with ripples of suppressed capability and power hidden within that lean frame and stoical manner with which he now regarded her.  
At a nudge of his head, Sasuke gestured towards the road in front of them that inevitably led to Ichiraku.

"You're hungry and I have pocket money. Let's go."  
The Mikoto's pride kicked in and she crossed his arms stubbornly, "You don't have to pay for my meals, Sasuke."  
The Uchiha closed his eyes and sighed, his mouth dipping slightly, and then surfacing with a subtle smirk. "Then, I'm hungry and I have pocket money. Join me."  
The viola-speckled eyes that stared back at Sasuke wavered for a moment.  
"But... You never do this."

And as if her stomach knew better than to pass up an opportunity, it betrayed her, and gave a low rumble of hunger just enough that the Uchiha heard it.

Koyuki cursed feebly at the ground and at her stomach, before her eyes went back to the boy.  
Despite Koyuki's now crippled dignity, Sasuke was being nicer than usual and she could definitely take advantage of that rarity.  
"Fine." The girl muttered, only half-grudgingly and more to herself before she followed her friend out of the academy grounds to the cemented road.

Once again, the owner of Ichiraku was nowhere to be seen and Ayame had taken over the counter.  
Sasuke extracted a paper bill from his pocket and slipped it across the table as Koyuki plopped down on the seat beside him.  
"Tempura ramen-" the dark-haired genin said, before tilting his chin down at the girl beside him, "and one tonkotsu ramen for Koyuki."  
The kunoichi folded her arms across her chest, and she studied Sasuke with considering eyes.  
"How do you know it's tonkotsu ramen I want?"

Sasuke looked sideways at Koyuki with a slight smirk as he sat. "It's what you always order."  
He had not been kidding. Koyuki was fairly predictable as long as the situation didn't have anything to do with battle. The Uchiha noticed that she was quite capable of coming up with brilliantly impressive tactics during sparring sessions and actual battle. But when it came down to food, Sasuke knew the girl didn't need a menu.  
At Ichiraku, it was always tonkotsu ramen.

"Oh." Koyuki silently responded before her chin fell into her hand, even as she hid a candid smile. _He still remembers, after all these years._

Sasuke's eyes silently studied the cluster of chopsticks in front of him before finally wandering over to his classmate.  
Koyuki's own eyes remained closed even when she could sense Sasuke's calculating gaze on her.  
His breath stirred at the curls of steam rising from the cup and he leaned forward into the counter, strands of blue-black hair escaping against his cheeks. He brought the tea cup to his mouth.

"Koyuki..." Ayame's voice pulled the Mikoto out of her state of lethargy, and her eyes perked at the sight of the steaming bowl of ramen being lowered in front of her.  
"Thanks, nee-chan." She slurred delightedly, her eyes twin beams of joy.  
Ayame mirrored her smile and Sasuke lowered his face to sip quietly from his cup.

The bowl of ramen being set in front of the dark-haired boy ushered in a silence and Sasuke started nibbling on his starch-fried shrimps.

"So, Koyuki. Where's your sensei?"  
"Hmm? Which one, nee-chan?" the girl mumbled into her meal, barely sparing the young girl a glance.  
"The one who usually shares lunch with you. Kakashi... Kakashi Hatake." Ayame said, trying to catch a bit of her uncanny amethyst irises.

The Uchiha's slanted eyes looked sideways at Koyuki and the sun danced off the side of her finely-bridged nose as she lowered her chopsticks and dug into the noodles.

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei... eto, he's probably visiting the cenotaph like he does every morning. He's always been so busy these days, I haven't seen him in a while." And Koyuki reached out to her green tea, sipping a bit of it before setting it down again.

Koyuki tilted the ramen bowl to her lips, gulping down what was left of the warm soup.  
A short silence ensued, during which Koyuki lowered the emptied ceramic bowl and swiped at her damp cheeks.

"Anou... Kakashi-san should be waiting for me at the training grounds today." the girl's honest, violet eyes glanced over at the raven-haired boy. Sasuke lowered his chopsticks and stared into the noodles.

"I'm sorry that I was such a burden last night Sasuke, I should have been more careful." She said, her voice slightly startling him.

An arm absent-mindedly rose to brush away the stray strands of hair that fell across her face.  
She'd started speaking but he cut her off abruptly, "I could've let you out there, but I chose to tend to your wounds and let you stay the night. It wasn't a burden, so quit apologizing and just be grateful."

Her eyes flinched, and for a moment Sasuke waited for her to lash out with a defensive retort of her own. But she only gave him a smile.

Unknowingly, she had delivered the last attack and had blown his grand fortress open.  
He couldn't keep hurting someone who didn't want to fight back.

"Thanks for lunch Sasuke." He heard her shuffle onto her feet, but before she left, he felt and hand on his right shoulder, her fingers gave a light squeeze before she walked away from the ramen bar.

Ayame raised her head from behind the counter, where she was seated and her brown eyes swept over the slumped form of her customer. Her heart wrenched as she watched Sasuke, his hunger forgotten.  
The ramen in front of him remained untouched, steam dancing above the hot soup had dissipated and she knew that the tempura was cold.  
Apparently there was a first time for everything.  
Silently, she slipped behind the curtains towards the inside kitchen to clean out the utensils.

* * *

Koyuki stepped onto the tree branch near the training grounds, the rushing water in the nearby stream was eerily silent. And the girl lowered herself along the tree bark.

One droplet of rain, a shattered wet streak across the delicate bridge of her nose, but the girl seemed not to notice. Then more rain came, a drizzle of beads hitting gently at their faces, soaking into her hair and dampening the hues of her clothes.

A subtle smirk formed on her lips. _Let's see how fast you can catch on... Kakashi-san._

* * *

"Are you sure it's not just the coming rains? A storm perhaps?"

"Kakashi..." the small summon managed a look of irritated offensiveness. "I know what rainfall smells like, and this is not it."

The pepper-haired jonin hovered along the ledge of a tall tree branch before jumping down to the ground. Right were he suspected Koyuki would be.

Undeniably, there was something going on. He could feel the tension burying into his nerves. Feel the familiar prickling sensation creep up his neck and spine.

"Yes, something's not right." Kakashi started, before turning to the little pug, "I just wanted to make sure it was our target you were smelling and not another worthless — or suprising - something."

The jounin held out a gloved hand to his small friend cowering on a low tree branch, and his one eye crinkled in its gentle, assuring way.  
"Come on Pakkun." Kakashi lightly cajoled with a tilt of his pepper head.

The blue-vested dog couldn't resist the jonin's charming personality, and he wiped his front paws gingerly against each other before leaping down into the jounin's outstretched hand.

Kakashi drew Pakkun against his vest, dangling him over the crook of one arm, and the dog only barely started to nestle comfortably into the body's warmth when the intense smell of potent chakra filled his nose.

The dog jerked and opened his mouth but the jonin cut him off with a low murmur enough only for the summon to hear.  
"This is a bunshin. Go when I drop you."

The dog's eyes widened in surprise.  
The skill Kakashi possessed in evenly distributing his scent and body heat.  
It had fooled even him.

The black and white outfit rustled in the wind as the soft-featured kunoichi shot forward. Her ninjato gripped firmly between her hands.

Pakkun yelped and scrambled away, shooting up into the nearest tree where he pushed himself into a hole in the bark.

The ebony sword's deadly tip shot forward, pushing sharply into the jonin's vest.  
And the Kakashi-bunshin let out a very convincing cry of pain as the sword tore through his chest with a flickering glow of white-gold.

And then the jonin-clone was folding into the floor with ninjato protruding from its chest, slamming into the ground before exploding into a cloud of smoke.

Koyuki stood there, her dark eyes wide with determination, and with a chuckle she swung her sword up against her shoulder.  
But a sharp, hissing noise close to her ear made her jerk her head sideways in surprise at sword's sharp tip.

A tag had been slapped over the edge, the exploding curse already burning more than halfway through.

"Shimata-" the girl had barely finished growling when the explosion was activated, blowing off the sword and the girl's head with the impact, sending voltage slapping into the trees, and the sparks leapt from the bunshin to the nearby tree which flared in flames but faded, to the tree tops overhead, and from there it ran to every corner of training ground, lightly singeing just about everything.

Kakashi watched from a few feet away, as the static-clone hovered shakily for a moment on its one stable leg before finally collapsing backwards, and sloshing noisily into the ground.

The jonin's eye narrowed darkly and he pushed away from his position, disappearing in an etch of lines and reappearing in the middle of the field.

The pepper-haired shinobi looked up at his cowering summon, who was then giving him a threatening look, despite his fear, and Kakashi pushed a hand behind his head and sighed.

He had to make the bunshin look authentic didn't he?

Pakkun seemed to forget that summons could disappear whenever there was a mutual agreement to do just that.  
The dog seemed to remember it then, and his eyes gave a dead look as he mouthed the words.

The jonin could read lips, and he nodded in permission, turning away from the dissipating smoke as the dog departed, as well as the Kakashi-bunshin.

Standing there, against the tug of the wind, he closed his eyes and sharpened his senses, remembering Koyuki's unique chakra signature in his mind.

He could feel it. He knew. There were more clones to come.

* * *

"Where is the real you...?" Kakashi's breath was straining against his mask, one gloved hand moved up to push at a deep cut across his left shoulder where one of the clone's sword had sliced him.

The eight figures only looked mutely at him and Kakashi jumped when one of them swung out fast with her sword, smashing it into the ground where the jounin had been standing.

Flickers of electricity danced along the ebony blade, and the jounin felt his left leg weaken slightly as he landed a few feet away.

He'd figured it out after killing two other lightning clones. The sword was charged with Koyuki's unique lightning chakra, and whenever he was close to the sword, he could feel the lightning charge through his bones, deep within the marrow, and paralyzed his nerve cells.

He'd managed to avoid all but one direct blow. But even from two feet away the sword electrocuted at your nervous system.

Kakashi knew he didn't have much of a choice.  
He had to read the movements to disable Koyuki.

His left hand rose to pull his forehead protector up and the jounin barely managed a duck as another clone shot out at him with a swipe of his leg.

Another sword came from the side and the jounin twisted in quick somersault, dodging another vertical slash from yet another clone and pushing a firm fist deep into the bunshin's nose, feeling nothing but the shock coursing through his body and the exploding static around his limbs as his body stiffen in agony, he lost control of his muscles as his knees collapsed to the ground.

Kakashi willed himself up, staring now into the face of another grinning Mikoto.

And the jounin smiled underneath his mask as the Sharingan in his left eye opened and started its ease of familiar slow sweeps in circumference.

A growl from the girl in front of him and the jounin saw it.

He ducked as the sword lashed out and struck with a powerful leg sweep, breaking through the bunshin's ankles and causing the waves of jutsu to double over backwards.

Six more to go.

The Sharingan flashed, dots sweeping in jutsu copy, as the lightning clones started another approach.

One dashed out towards the left, another ran for the right, both sides swinging a sword at him at the same time.

There was a crunch, much like autumn leaves and sea shells breaking as the two swords collided and Kakashi slid himself backwards, head slightly reeling as his gaze focused on the line of dust he'd kicked up.

Just as he suspected, the two swords glowed with electricity, paralyzing his system.

The jounin could see the ethereal light beyond the swirls of dirt.

His hands whipped out two shurikens and Kakashi sharply tossed them out, both stars flying straight towards the two bunshin foreheads.

The metal weapons slammed into solid skin before sinking into the sudden pools of electricity and the jounin pushed one hand up in an activation seal, anticipating the move.

The ninja-stars burned orange and within a second the clone to the left exploded into electricity followed by the showering detonation of the other from the right, the electric charge of both flooding out into the ground, sparks of fire withered across the grass, the charge was hot enough to scorch the blades of grass into smoking remains.

_If this keeps up, my chakra will be completely depleted._

Just as the thought left his head, he saw a flash of black in front of him and the menacing flash of a bunshin's eyes as it hoarsely murmured, "Got you."

Kakashi reflexively brought a hand out sideways and the metal over his glove collided hard with the ninjato. For a moment he cringed, trembling with the effort of holding his fist up.

This girl was strong to have clones who were so capable.

The sword released a static sound and the whole length of it glowed satisfactorily.

Immediately the energy left him, and the jounin's knees hit the ground.

The ninjato came slamming down.

It hit rubble and a crack stretched out across the ground, as Kakashi pushed his body sideways with a roll.

"This is bad." He panted, feeling the noticeable change in his body as he struggled to raise himself.

And then the real Koyuki was flying towards him, the sword held straight out, and Kakashi readied himself in defense stance.  
Closer, closer.

His eye widen as the blade stopped mere seconds before it contacted with his forehead.

A familiar, lean form stood in front of him, "I win Kakashi-sensei." the voice droned.

"Koyuki." The jonin looked up to his student as she slid the sword into the scabbard.

"The sword..." Kakashi tightly said pushing a hand to the cut across his shoulder as it pulsed with hot pain, "It electrocutes the nervous system of anyone who comes near it. Very clever."

Koyuki turned her head to the side, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and the pepper-haired shinobi's eyes widened slightly.

"It is isn't it? And the best part is... it doesn't require any of my chakra, it's all apart of my kekkei genkai."

Koyuki shook her head slowly and grinned weakly.  
Even when her eyes were already lowering and her legs were growing numb. Kakashi pushed his body up, hunched beside her and tugging one of her arms on his shoulders.

The girl's head bent as she gave a small smile into the ground, "I'm getting stronger though, am I?"

The jonin's eye softened and his hand clutched tighter around the girl's wrist, pulling the sagging weight higher into the arch of his shoulder blades, "Yes, of course, bringer me to my knees is certainly a rare sight."

The Mikoto's head dipped along with the last words she whispered into the training ground. "…Heh, I'm glad."

Her body caved into Kakashi's arms, and the jonin bent to gather the unconscious kunoichi and her tangled limbs.

He remembered all the times in the past they'd fought with each other.  
It wasn't the first time Koyuki's determination to win had brought her to unconsciousness.

_It only follows that it isn't the first time I'm the one who has to drag her to bed._ the jonin dryly thought as he looked down at his slumped student.

The evening was silent, save for the clapping of leaves as branches swayed.

"Stay strong Koyuki, not just for yourself, but for your clan." Kakashi murmured into the space between him and his student, the mouth under his mask pulling up in a small smile.


	4. Sanguine

_**- Scroll IV -**_

**- Sanguine -**

* * *

"25…26…27… 28-29-30! Na, Koyuki-chan I'm coming to get you!"

Sasuke lifted away from the wooden closet and blinked into the startling darkness.  
His eyes caught at the glimmers of light outside the window of the Uchiha main house, and with an exhilarated smile he took off across the room, hearing the familiar creaks of the wooden planks under his bare feet as he ran.

Turning into the dimly-lit hallway, the little boy paused, breath catching in his throat, glancing left and right.  
An opened cabinet beside him told him Koyuki had considered hiding in there, but had changed her mind.  
To his right was the small laundry room, and the boy reached out with his small arms, grasping at the richly-textured golden knobs.  
With a grunt, he pulled the twin doors open and peered inside, eyes flashing keenly across the piles of clothes, the sashes of ceremonial robes and the grand ancestral kimono tapered to the oak wall.

His sharp eyes scanned the room.

Every nook and cranny, every dark corner and space.  
No Koyuki.

With a breath, the boy had turned around, flying down the hallway with thrill dancing in his eyes.  
The pantry, the kitchen, the servants quarters… all rooms furnished, and carefully attended to with blue and white candles and oil lamps.  
The glows of the flickering flames cast warm shadows that leapt across the room, and the young Uchiha paused before each doorway, grinning as his eyes swept around the tight spaces.

_Much too bright for Koyuki to hide here..._ he thought carefully to himself, and his mouth flattened out into a stubborn pout as he paused, bandaged feet planted firmly on the floor, hands spread out to his sides.  
Thinking and thinking...  
_Where could she be?_

In his mind, the small boy pictured his friend, tightly pressed against a dark corner or huddled up behind a massive clay pot, hiding up on a lean branch, concealed in one of the trees out in the garden or ducking into the cleaning storage in the backyard... traces of her soft, cheerful, smile and bright attentive eyes.

Sasuke's ears perked as he heard the light thumps against the walls, feeling the floor pulse under the soles of his feet as the tandem of sure-footed running struck out at him from the far left.

"Aha!" the giddy little boy whispered, and his short, spiky raven hair flew out across his pale skin as he whipped his head sideways towards the sliding doors leading into the family garden.

"I hear you, I hear you!" Sasuke couldn't help hollering, and he pushed the dividing doors open, flinging his body out into the cool, night air, deeply inhaling the fresh, smokiness of burnt wood and the sweetness of pine sap.  
The incessant call of the crickets swept around the lawn, and as the boy ran, he looked up into the sky and saw there the vast, twinkles of the meek stars winking at him.

With an excited laugh, Sasuke tore across the small boardwalk surrounding the edges of the garden, eyeing the bushes, scanning across the far-away hedges and trees.

Was that his friend's shadow moving against the flat, gray rocks beside the pond? Was it-

Something solid slammed into his right shoulder and Sasuke doubled over with a surprised cry, backside and elbows hitting joltingly into the wood, before he had regained his breath and blinked up at the shadowy-figure.

"Sasuke!" His father's aggravated stare tempered the exhausted features of his stern face and the boy jerked, looking meekly from him to the taller, broader-shouldered man beside him.  
Uh-oh.

"Oto-san…" the little boy murmured, lowering his eyes timidly, unminding of the locks of hair slipping down into his face.

Suddenly he felt too much like his irritating three year old cousins who lived in the house next to the mansion and the young Uchiha ignored the dull pain of his elbows as he crouched low, kneeling reverendly as he was taught to bow before his looming father.

"Stop your running around the house. Not at this hour, Sasuke. I will not tolerate it!"

"…to-san…" the boy's eyes blinked desolately at the ends of his father's robe, "I-I'm sorry..."

"The clan elders and heads of security are holding an important meeting in the grand hall. The hall two doors away, as I trust you should already know." Sasuke's father emphasized his last words deliberately, with a grand gesture of his blue silk komono. And the boy forced his chin up, already embarrassed for his lack of responsibility, eyes looking to the dimly-lit rooms behind the two adults.

He gave the visitor a shy, apologetic glance.  
And then he heard his father again.

"You are my son, and you will not embarrass me by acting like a wild animal in this house."

Sasuke couldn't miss the quiet intolerance and tenor of his father's voice, and he felt the shame bite at his cheeks when the older companion smiled sympathetically down at him.

"Yes… Oto-san…" the little boy averted his gaze and slowly pushed his legs up. "I won't-"

"Sasuke!" A cheerful call that held more solidity than his own shaking apology sliced across the thick atmosphere, and the young Uchiha turned his head just in time to see a pale hand reach out to his forehead and poke him.

Nothing but a mild push, but still there was a slight bite of pain.

"Tag. You're it!"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed slightly and he looked up just in time to see Koyuki smile at him.

"Koyuki-chan…" he whispered, aware that his father was at pause, waiting for a cordial greeting from her.

"Come on, you're it." Koyuki repeated, ignoring Fugaku altogether.  
Her vibrate, violet irises glinted in the darkness as she continued to stare at Sasuke.

"Koyuki-" his father started, but the girl was running off, feet pounding lightly into the floorboards, bright silver and ebony whipping at the clan symbol on her back.  
"This is training too… just like hide-and-seek." The girl said evenly.  
Her steps were lithe and graceful, a slow teasing dance, and the younger boy could only watch with dread as his best friend lingered in front of the dividing doors to the grand hall.

Warily, Sasuke looked up at his father, who now had his jaw clenched and his attention no longer directed at him.

"Come on, Sasuke."  
The small boy looked up at the coax of his name, catching the patient look in his friend's shining eyes and the bare traces of a smile lingering from the tips of her mouth.

And Sasuke saw his father look away, mustering dignity as a cold counter to the girl's ignorance.  
The man beside him laughed, shaking his head as he gave the stern Uchiha a consoling pat to the back.  
And then, with a final disapproving grunt from his father, the two men started walking away.

"Here…" the younger Uchiha saw Koyuki slowly stretch out her open palm, pale against the glow of the moon, the tips of her fingers touching at the shadows and the light.

"I'll give you a chance to tag me…" Koyuki offered with a gentle smile, and the smaller boy's eyes widened with delight, before he ducked low and gave a playfully menacing grin, forgetting all about his father and the disapproval.

Only hearing Koyuki's voice now.

"Come get me."  
"Sasuke…"

_Catch me._

The bedsheets rustled and Sasuke's obsidian eyes opened slowly, eyelashes lifting against the strands of his raven bangs.

For a moment he watched the shadows stretching forlornly along the walls of the room, and in the darkness he heard the echoes of that voice, clear in his mind one moment, and then fading slowly, back into the past.

The painful sadness shook him and his head buried limply into the white sheets.

Another dream. Another memory.

It wasn't the first time the past had come to him in his sleep.  
It was only one of so very many instances.  
But that didn't ever matter, because every time it was just as painful.

The overwhelming sadness of seeing her, his father, alive, feeling the brief joy.  
_Why... Why..._

_Those days..._  
_...had been..._  
The thought trailed off.

Sasuke blinked into the white sheets and felt the emptiness. Felt the hollow beat of his heart and the cold pinprickling sensation choking at his breath.  
He felt the familiar agony of being alone.

Then he pulled away from the pillow, past the tangled sheets, sitting up at the edge of the bed. He thought about her, and the moments they shared before it all happened. It was all starting to flood back to him.

He felt the corners of his lips tugging into a subtle smirk.

He had stumbled upon hope, dreams, love. Things he had thrown away for the pursuit of his goddamn revenge. Emotions he had dismissed in training himself to be the perfect avenger.

And now he was remembering, what warmth felt like, what bonds of friendship meant. He didn't want his old world back.

* * *

She could see the rocky monument - the Hokage's mountain - framing the brown shingled roofs in front of her, and a little way to the right of it, the Konoha Ninja Academy.

Koyuki gathered some chakra under the soles of her feet and leaped up and went over the wires of the chain link fence surrounding the rooftop, before touching lightly to the wood planks on the bridge.

The wind rustled in the trees, and the branches and leaves wove moving cut-out patterns for the sunlight to display across the ground.

Koyuki decided to take a chakra-consuming jog to the academy. She passed the opening stalls and gazed at the dimly-lit paper lanterns swaying in the wind. Nothing but a silent blur traveling at the speed of sound.

At the sight of the red building, she slowed her speed and the amount of chakra flowing to her feet, until it was completely diminished. Upon entering the building she heard a high-pitched scream pierce the building.

For a moment, Koyuki froze. _That was Sakura!_

She broke into a run and stormed into the room.

The first sight that caught her attention was Naruto's nose bumped painfully against Sasuke's, lips forced together, and Koyuki inwardly cringed. They immediately separated, and a ruckus ensuing is the only reasonable reaction from those guys, both gagging dramatically.

Koyuki's shoulders shook with mirth, trying to stifle the laughter slowly creeping out.

Sasuke was holding the urge to punch a hole into the blonde boy's socket, he uttered deadly under his breath, "Naruto, you piece of crap! You are dead!"

"Poison! My mouth is ruined!" Naruto screamed idiotically as he furiously wiped his mouth on his orange sleeve. After gaining his composure, Naruto sensed an air of malevolence in the room, and he slowly turned his attention to the girls, mainly Sakura.

"W-wait! It was an accident! I swear!" Naruto stuttered with a nervous smile, frantically waving his hands in denial.

A glint of malice flickered in her slit emerald eyes, "Naruto..."

Beads of sweat trickled down Naruto's timorous face, he ensued a yelp before scurring over the table top and ducked behind Koyuki, both hands placed firmly on her shoulders, he peaked his head over her right shoulder, depending on her to save him from the love-struck mob.

With fists clenched, the group inched towards Koyuki, one shouted, "Move out of the way Koyuki!"

Koyuki let out a annoyed sigh. _Naruto causes more trouble than most people can in a life time._ Then she formed a conceited smile, curtly playing along with them, "Now why would I do that?"

"Because he stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss! That was meant for me!"

"Nu-uh! For me!"

"In your dreams!"

Koyuki's lips spreaded out into a playful grin, she loved teasing with them!

She let out a gasp, turning her attention to Naruto, "Why would you do such a thing Naruto? That's not nice!" Koyuki teasingly disapproved of his actions.

"N-nani? B-but the guy in front of me bumped me towards Sasuke! I didn't do it on purpose!" Naruto retorted with disgust.

"Now I know it's hard Naruto-kun, Sasuke is ever so handsome! Is he not?" Koyuki cooed with hands clasped together, purposely misleading everyone.

Koyuki nearly lost her composure when she gazed at Sasuke's deadly glare.

... No, he was not amused.

A faint rosy hue spreaded out over his cheeks. Koyuki pushed her mouth down against her knuckles, trying to cut out the threatening sound of laughter.

Naruto abruptly released his grip on her shoulders and stumbled backwards, "What the hell Koyuki! That's not funny!"

"Oh come on," She said, and her smile blossomed, "-I mean, just look at him!"

In a rustle, Koyuki quickly appeared beside Sasuke. With her arm hooking over his shoulder, she pressed herself against his back, pinching his cheek with her other hand.

"Who could resist such a gorgeous face?" The girl emphasized teasingly. His eyes widened and just as quickly he glowered, his face becoming flushed.

Koyuki lowered her quaking head, and she gave her first low round of laughter, startling him. And his face lifted to her, his hair spilling between his slightly bewildered eyes, and she gave him a delighted grin.

"I'm just teasing Sasuke." He heard the sweet octaves of her voice.

The softness of her lingering hand triggered the shock that leapt around his stomach. She pulled away from him and, in fact, he stared at her, a transfixed gaze softening his obsidian eyes as he watched her giggle, he discovered he could listen to that melodious tickle forever.

His mind thought a million different thoughts that for once, had nothing to do with his brother. There was a small battle taking place in his mind, the very kind that annoyed Sasuke. And he briefly labeled himself ridiculous before turning one side of his face and eye hesitantly at her until the tinkering faded into an acceptable silence.

* * *

"From this day forward, you are no longer mere students of ninjutsu, but full-fledged shinobi. But, among the ranks of shinobi, you are mere novices, lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges all lie ahead."

Iruka's eyes averted to all the students in the class, continuing, "The next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of our village. We will begin by dividing you into three-man squads, with the exception of one, which will obtain four. Each of which will be mentored by a jonin, a more senior ninja... who will guide and coach you as you become familiar with various assignments."

Koyuki's gaze narrowed slightly, a five-man squad would definitely be a nuisance. Missions are usually carried out by a four-man squad to ensure mobility, to stay coordinated and move swiftly with no loss of discipline. Groups larger than four are easier for the enemy to detect and actually more at risk. But since there was a even number of graduating students this year, it would have to do.

"I made the selection so that each squad's abilities would be approximately equal."

With closed eyelids, Koyuki anxiously waited for her name to be announced. Iruka-sensei stated the first six squads, none of which of her circle of friends were assigned to, she was quite thankful.

"Next, Squad Seven... Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto..."

"Yatta!" Beside her, a high, scratchy voice let out a whoop. Sakura let out a unsatisfied sigh, clearly not happy being assigned with Naruto for the rest of her genin years.

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

"Oh, yeah!" Now it was Sakura's turn, and Koyuki's heart thudded dully in her chest. One more position...

"And Mikoto Koyuki."

Then she sighed with relief, she wouldn't want to be in a squad with anyone else. She quickly glanced at the Uchiha, and the girl watched with fascination as the curl of his mouth broke out into a hidden smile, one she had not seen in five years. He turned the side of his face, looking at the Mikoto's expression, she'd never recalled seeing such a open emotive in the depths of those black eyes.

"Awesome, dattebyou! You hear that Koyuki-chan!" Naruto said happily, throwing an arm around her shoulders. Surprisingly, she seemed comfortable when a smile spreaded over her cheeks.

Iruka-sensei proceeded with the rest of the squads. Squad Eight consisted of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzaka Kiba and Aburame Shino, and Squad Ten consisted of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji.

Koyuki's attention wandered over to a pouting Naruto. The blonde ninja's eyes were narrowed once again into tiny inquisitive slits and his mouth was pulled out in a thin, flat disapproving line. He stood up and then pointed one grand finger at the Uchiha.

"Ne, sensei! What were you thinking of, saddling a most excellent shinobi like myself... with that loser!?"

Koyuki heard a low growl of the pink-haired girl sitting on the opposite side of Sasuke, annoyed at his derogatory remark towards _her_ Sasuke-kun.

Iruka-sensei said simply, "... Of the twenty-eight of you, Koyuki has the best grade, Sasuke following shortly behind, Naruto. You would be at the bottom of the class. The idea is to balance your different strengths... **that's **why you ended up together!"

The class erupted with laughter as the orange-clad ninja stood there, listening to everything...  
Taking the blow for everything...

Naruto was plagued once again with thoughts that the damn Uchiha-rookie would always be better than him.

Always.

"Hnn... just try not to drag me down, usuratonkashi."

"Raahhh, what'd you call me!?"

"Just knock it off, Naruto!"

Iruka-sensei just signed as the two quarreled, then smiled, "Okay, everyone. I'll be introducing your jonin instructor this afternoon. Until then, you're dismissed!"

* * *

Koyuki walked out of the academy.

Right now, her body was just protesting for a midday snack. There was a small canteen near the academy, she would go there.

She'd already crossed paths with Asuma Sarutobi, who as usual, had a toothpick poking incessantly at the atmosphere from his mouth, and a slightly distorted cigarette stick protruding from one ear.

Either that, or it was a reversal of roles with the cigarette held clamped between his lips, and the toothpick jutting out from his bandana.

Asuma raised a hand to wave at her.

"Oi, Koyuki..." Asuma's voice trailed off as he caught sight of the leaf forehead protector, and his smile erupted into a full-forced grin.

"Ah... it's about time Koyuki-san."

The girl smiled in affirmation up at the jonin, "Arigatou Asuma-sensei, but please, no formalities, I get plenty of those all the time."

"Nonsense, you deserve it kiddo. I heard from Kakashi, your skills are quiet admirable, frankly I'm surprised you didn't graduate years ago."

His hand plucked the cigarette stick from his ear and he disposed of the toothpick still in his mouth. Absent-mindedly he stuck the cigarette into his mouth, and his triangular goatee dipped upwards as he rolled the stick around his parted lips.

"Yes, well, I have my reasons." Koyuki retorted, her mouth twitched to the side.

"...Hmm, Uchiha Sasuke I presume." Asuma said after a moment, giving the girl a slight wink.

"It's not like that - I do care about Sasuke, but there's more to it than that, you should know. " Koyuki said.

The grizzly teacher's hand landed on the girl's head, startling her, and Asuma rolled his eyes comically as the stick in his mouth lifted. His eyes studied Koyuki and the kunoichi looked at him, fixedly and unwavering.

"I do know, and I understand, If I was in your shoes I'd probably make the same decision. I saw you two grew up together, the boy always had a nice little mischievous grin when he was around you..." He focused his stare at Koyuki. The girl said nothing.

"Of course, most people have forgotten what an Uchiha grin looks like. Since that boy barely even cracks a smile now." Sarutobi said conversationally, then proceeded with a grin and then cracked a match to the end of his cigarette. The butt glowed orange and his eyes traveled towards Koyuki from behind the first puffs of tobacco smoke.

She felt the weight of his hand lifted from her head as Asuma spoke, "By the way, does he know about your _other _kekkei genkai?"

Koyuki's head jerked slightly towards the man, she narrowed her eyes, "No, he doesn't."

"Huh? Why not? Surely if he knew about it..."

Without even knowing it, Koyuki's fist started to clench tightly.

The man gave a resigned grunt and sensing the end to that, "Ah, jia Koyuki-san." And with that, Asuma turned away from her and continued walking towards the academy.

Her jaws ached from the way her teeth were clamped together so tightly and she could feel the familiar rage, accompanied by heightened sensations creeping up to her temples.

She knew that her violet irises now appeared to others, stained in a deep, menacing red. Flashing with a steady, spinning whirl of black that begun to settle in dots of three.


	5. Team Scarecrow

- **_Scroll V -_**

**- Team Scarecrow -**

* * *

She'd eaten at the canteen many times during break at the academy, occasionally with some of the more talkative girls who invited her, or with the audacious boys who approached her and sometimes begged for her to accompany them. But most of the time she came alone.

Her favorite was the oyakodon, and the toasted rice-husk tea that came free with it.

Koyuki plopped down wearily on the bench, stretching out her limbs and then crossing her arms in front of her chest, cringing at the ache that was working the nerves in her stomach.

Her arms still didn't have the fluidity of normal movement.

_That Neji._

"What would you like dear?" the waitress asked.

The girl looked up sideways and saw the waitress with a bright pink bandana tied to her head, a stained white apron laced around her bulging waist. She was staring at Koyuki expectantly. Her beady eyes unnoticeably planted into the scowl that was her face.

"The oyakodon, and the rice-husk tea." She muttered automatically, tucking her small fingers under her chin as she eyed the blades of grass dancing along the distance.

For a few moments, the Mikoto stayed that way, hands twined under the chin, her contrastingly violet eyes observing the surroundings keenly.

A movement to her left distracted her and she glanced sideways to see the waitress hovering near her table. She'd just set down two steaming bowls of rice with barbecued chicken for another couple adjacent to her. The waitresses scowl had disappeared and she had a lingering smile as she tucked the yellowed paper-pad into her apron pocket and moved away.

Koyuki slipped into deep thought.

In fact, the girl didn't bother looking up when her rice-husk tea was served in front of her. With a sigh she lifted the steaming cup of tea into her hands and tilted it to her mouth.

"Here you go dear."

The steamy dish of chicken and rice with eggs was placed in front of Koyuki, and she set down her cup. Koyuki grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began to eat. The warmth of it brought goose bumps to her skin and she mutely studied the swirl of steam that rose from the bowl.

To her surprise, she wasn't that hungry. By afternoon, her appetite was comparable to Naruto's lust for ramen at Ichiraku's.  
It occurred to Koyuki that she was still upset, emotionally, about the sharingan situation with Asuma. She forced herself to taper down the distress inside her, felt the familiar retreat of energy that signaled the beginnings of a slight headache.

She ignored the ache and ate the rest of her meal. After drinking the rest of her tea, she slipped a paper bill on the table, along with a small tip, and left the canteen, walking back to the academy.

She turned towards the street that led to the academy and saw the pink-haired kunoichi sitting on a concrete bench, her bento box left uneaten.

"Hmm, Sakura?" Koyuki called her name.

For a while, her face was hidden behind fine, silken strawberry strands. And then she slowly raised her head, eyes big and green.

"Oh, Koyuki, what is it?" She said. Her voice was faint.

"You look upset about something, what's wrong?" Koyuki asked.

"Nothing really, it's just..." Sakura's voice trailed off, and she laced her fingers together.

"Just...?" Koyuki commiserated, still urging the girl to continue. She sat down next to her.

Now, finally Sakura looked up at Koyuki. There was a slight change in her features.  
"Do you find me annoying?"  
Koyuki said nothing for a moment, and a lock of her hair slid towards her cheek.

"Sakura," She was staring at her now. "What are you talking about?"

"Earlier, before you came... Sasuke passed by, and I said something about Naruto..." Sakura began, and her eyes cradled with hesitance.

Something twisted in Koyuki's gut, and she narrowed her eyes at Sakura. "What about Naruto?" She asked quietly.

"I said he was badly brought up because he never had any parents, that he was completely selfish. I envied him being alone, not having parents to nag at you all the time." Her voice fell away, and she finally found the guts to look at Koyuki.

Koyuki was fuming now.

This almost shattered her containment, and her anger flared for a second. Sakura was pushing all the wrong buttons.

"I see..." Koyuki said slowly. Her hands were balling into fists on her thighs. Her face looked at Sakura's, suddenly as unemotional as ever, betraying the seething temperament that was threatening to take her over.

Sakura's eyes flinched and then slowly traveled towards the floor, a hand moved up to clutch at her arm and she seemed at a loss for words.

"I understand why you would say such things, Sakura." Koyuki started to say, all traces of anger gone.

She continued, "You have a mother and father, a family to love you, to encourage you. Naruto doesn't. He has been completely alone ever since the day he was born. He grew up without his parents, no one in the entire village to care about him, nothing. That's why he pulls pranks, gets into trouble, so people will acknowledge his existence."

Koyuki paused, her amethyst eyes sweeping over her startled deep green eyes.

"In fact, Sakura, you are the only person on the team who still has a family. Sasuke and I, we don't have a family, not anymore."

Sakura appeared unsure for a moment, almost ashamed. "I... I didn't know."

"It's okay Sakura, I'm not angry at you." She said, disarming Sakura with one of her rare, small smiles. "Just promise me to give Naruto a chance, be nicer to him, he'll surprise you."

Sakura gave her a crack of a smile, and nodded. "Okay."

"Good," Koyuki said, lifting herself off the bench. "Shall we?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah."

And with that, Koyuki and Sakura turned away from the bench and continued walking towards the academy.

* * *

"Naruto, will you cut it out?"

Koyuki blinked. Sakura's voice had disturbed her. Her forehead furrowed, and she buried her nose into her folded arm.

One eye peered out from behind her hair. Her eyes gazed to the clock that hung on the wall. Apparently, it has been an hour since the other teams have been selected by their jonin instructors.

Team Seven was the only one left in the classroom.

Naruto stood by the classroom door, protruding his head out, irritatingly searching for their late sensei. Sakura leaned against the first row in front of the classroom, arms folded across her chest.  
Sasuke, as usual, sat at a spot furthest away from the noisy blonde and the clingy girl, near the large window. Koyuki chose to sit in the first seat next to the steps the lead to the higher rows behind her.

Naruto plucked his head from the door and turned to face his teammates.

"Why are we the only squad whose sensei hasn't shown up yet!?" Naruto said. He narrowed his blue eyes into tiny slits, and crossed his arms. "All the other teams had already gone off with their teachers. Even Iruka-sensei's gone!"

Sakura sighed, "We know, okay?"

Then, as if an imaginary light bulb flashed on in his mind, Naruto's mouth curled into a mischievous grin. Moving across the room, he dragged a four-legged stool to the shoji doors, blackboad eraser in hand.

Sakura spoke, "Hey, what are you doing?" She pushed herself off the table and walked over to Naruto while he stood on the stool and placed the chalkboard eraser between the shoji door entrance, chortling to himself. He turns around, jumps off the stool and plasters on a wide grin.

"It's what he get's for being late!"

"Naruto..." Beside him, Sakura scowled, placing her hands on her hips. "I want no part of it."

Koyuki smirked as she sat upright and stretched her arms over her head. Koyuki could see through Sakura's facade, she knew the pink-haired kunoichi still held a soft spot for Naruto's childish and even innocent pranks.

To Koyuki's left, she heard Sasuke sneer, "No way could a superior shinobi would fall for a trap as obvious as that."

"Yeah, Sasuke's right! You're so immature Naruto!" Sakura always agreed with him. If he had spoken with conviction that pigs could fly... she wouldn't have hesitated to back him up.

Koyuki's mouth twisted in a slight smirk as she spoke, "Oh, come now Sakura. You don't think it would be hilarious to see a upper class shinobi get pranked by Naruto? I certainly do."

The blonde raised his head and gave a wide, candid grin as he pushed his hands behind his head.

"See? Even Koyuki-chan thinks it's fun!" The fox-whiskered boy said, eyes glinting.

Koyuki just smiled as Sasuke and Sakura sighed under there breath. Then all went silent in anticipation as footsteps were heard outside the door. All eyes were on the entrance as a fingerless black glove gripped the handle. A vertical clump of silver hair is what Koyuki first noticed as the door slid open, and her heart skipped a beat.

_No, it couldn't be..._

And yet it was. Now, the man was fully exposed to reveal that her permament sensei was, indeed, Hatake Kakashi. He was considered one of the best in Konoha, one of the elite — as they say, and ever since his days as a young boy, his sensei — the Fourth, Konoha's Yellow Flash, had been keeping him at the academy, busy with high-ranking missions and training with highly-skilled shinobi, forever enhancing his ability.

Koyuki let out a breath of discontent.

_I should've_ _known... I bet the Hokage and the rest of the council had something to do with this._

Koyuki was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Naruto's obnoxious laughter, and she realized that the eraser had fallen on top Kakashi's head, leaving a cloud of chalk dust that dissipated just as quickly as it dropped to the floor with an audible _clunk!  
_

"Got'cha! He totally fell for it!" Naruto said, pointing and laughing at the gullible sensei.

"I'm sorry, sensei. I tried to stop him, but Naruto..." Sakura's voice faltered. In fact, her forehead was wrinkled in an apologetic manner, and she had her hands defensively curled close to her chest.  
A posture, Koyuki thought, that was reserved for whenever she was stressed.  
But Koyuki knew on the inside, she was jumping for joy.

Sasuke just looked at Kakashi apathetically, questioning if the gray-haired man's elite status was worth taking seriously, even Koyuki was somewhat baffled. Anyone could've dodged such a simple prank.

Koyuki turned her gaze towards Kakashi and watched as he bent forward to pick up the fallen eraser.

"Hmm, how shall I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say..." Came Kakashi's lazy drawl, before he curled a hand underneath his chin, his visible eye curled into what looked like a smile.

"You're a bunch of idiots."

At this, everyone, including Sasuke, sweat-dropped.

"Oh, except for Koyuki-san, of course." Kakashi corrected, his eye crinkled charmingly as he looked at her. Koyuki formed a small smile on her lips. Typical Kakashi.

* * *

The pepper-haired jonin led his newly acquired team up to the terraced roof of the Academy building. Kakashi sat on the short railing, arm-crossed, while the four genin sat on the elongated steps in front of him.

His visible eye swept over the four young children in front of him. To his far left was Haruno Sakura, noted to be an honor student at the Academy, and even to this day, Sakura's scholastic intelligence is hardly rivalled by any of her peers. Despite this, however, she became more interested in her looks as opposed to practising her ninja skills. Thus, comes off as self-centered, and was solely focused on herself and developing a relationship with Sasuke.

Which brings him to the next genin sitting next to the pink-haired girl, was the renowned Uchiha Sasuke. Last of the clan, along with his brother. Scoring second highest in the performance tests and one of the highest in written tests, he easily graduated at the top percentage of his Academy class, coinciding with Koyuki. Sasuke has great knowledge if not proficiency in many of his clan's techniques, despite his lack of formal training by relying solely on his innate talent and determination. Although, he has displayed both a superiority and an inferiority complex. This attitude affected his grades in the Academy after losing his clan, he had the lowest score in cooperation and second lowest in assertiveness.

Next to him, was Mikoto Koyuki. Acquiring both the Uchiha and Mikoto bloodline abilities, Koyuki is hailed as a brilliant kunoichi, even by the battle-adept Mikoto clan's standards, showing an undeniable prodigious talent and keen intellect to excel at all that she does. From this, she found little difficulty in more challenging tasks as seen during her time in the Academy. Koyuki could've easily graduated from a much earlier age, but unfortunately, she has refused the offer many times and neglected to give a reason for staying behind.  
Kakashi pondered about this for years, and has come to realize that Koyuki stayed in the Academy for Sasuke and Naruto's sake, she didn't wanted to leave them in their withering solitude and unhappiness. She always wanted to be by their sides.

Lastly, to the left of Koyuki, was Uzumaki Naruto. Current jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. A relatively naive, simple, and slow to understand knuckle-headed child. Despite his age, he held a massive reserve of exceptionally strong chakra, no doubt with the help of the tailed beast inside him. The Hokage specifically gave Kakashi the task of overseeing his progress and keeping the Nail-Tails at bay, if needed.

Kakashi let out a small, unnoticeable sigh underneath his mask. What has he gotten himself into?

He straightened himself, and began speaking, "Now, I'd like you to tell us a little about yourselves."

The pink-haired kunoichi asked, "Like what?"

Kakashi shrugged, and said, "Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."

Naruto insisted at the grey-haired sensei, "Help us out here, sensei. You go first, show us how it's done."

Sakura agreed with him, "That's right. After all, you're a complete stranger to us... a mystery."

Kakashi spoke in a disinterested tone to the group, "Oh... me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his like and dislikes. My dreams for the future are none of your business. As for hobbies? I have lots of hobbies."

Sakura whispered, "He said a lot, but all we really learned was him name."

Koyuki dipped her head in approval. Sakura was right, even the Mikoto barely knew anything about her sensei and longtime friend and mentor.

Kakashi turned his eye to Naruto, and said, "Okay, now it's your turn. Starting with you on the right."

Naruto's eyes glinted as he adjusted his headband, "Me? Yosh! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen, what I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at Ichiraku's! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water,"

The lazy-looking ninja gave Naruto a blank stare, it appears that he has nothing more on his mind than ramen.

Naruto added with certainty, "And my dream is to one day become the greatest Hokage! Then the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!"

After the brief shock, the jōnin smiled under his mask at whiskered boy's words.

"My hobbies are... pranks and practical jokes, I guess." He finished.

Kakashi scratched his head as he turned one lazy eye to the next genin in line, namely the Mikoto. "Next, Koyuki-san."

Koyuki's gaze flickered up at the call of her name, and she began speaking, "My name is Mikoto Koyuki. There are a few things I like; longs walks, training, those sort of things... and there are many things I dislike, but above all, I despise injustice and solitude. As for my dream..."

The wind whipped through her hair, grazing along her cheek. So looked up towards the sky with certainty in her eyes, and said, "To avenge my clan's massacre, bring justice to man who took my life away, and finally bring peace to my heart."

A hushed, awed silence ensued, and the team focused their attention on the girl with amethyst irises. To her right, Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her, fathomed by her response.

"Wow Koyuki, that was deep. I never knew that about you." The orange-clad ninja said suddenly, breaking the tension in the air.

Sasuke looked at Koyuki as her expression changed, and her eyes traveled towards the blonde.

"Yes, well, you never asked." She answered bluntly, crinkling her eyes in a small smile.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Kakashi cleared his throat, cutting him off, "Next!"

The boy tucked his hands in his usual prayer clasp over his mouth, and he looked indifferently as he spoke, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things that I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about "dreams"… that's just a word…"

His indifferent gaze became hard, piercing through the strands of hair falling over his headband, "… but what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan, and there's someone I have sworn to _kill_."

Koyuki already knew this, but hearing it caused her skin, the nerves underneath, to shiver like fine needles.  
It was his voice - that suave, solid tenor that reminded Koyuki of powerful sharks gliding sleekly in crystal water.

His quick eyes caught hers, the moment was ephemeral, and instantaneously she knew thoughts were running through his mind.

_Sasuke-kun… do not worry. You are suffering just like me, I won't let you endure this pain alone. _The girl thought with certainty as she watched the gray depths of his eyes shift as he focused his attention to the trees.

"And finally, the young lady at the end." the gray-haired jonin murmured, breaking the sudden gap of silence.

The girl had a healthy blush that tinged the top of her cheeks, and she appeared almost nervous as she said, "I am Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is… well, it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy… and that boy is… uh, let's move on to my dream."

The pink-haired girl glanced at the boy beside her, and pressed her lips to her curled fists as she let out a muffled squeal, Kakashi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

Then Sakura exclaimed with obvious distaste, "I hate Naruto!"

The crest-fallen look on Naruto's face was unnoticed as she continued lightheartedly, "My hobbies are…"

At this point, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if Sakura only joined the academy in hopes of developing a relationship with the raved-haired boy.

And before the girl could speak another word, Kakashi butted in with firm authority, "Enough. I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow."

Naruto raised his hand to his forehead while forming a salute, and spoke with excitement, "Yes sir! What will our duties be? Our first real shinobi mission!"

Kakashi continued, "Our first project involves only the members of this squad."

Naruto could barely suppress his enthusiasm, he leaned his body forward and insisted, "Well, what is it?"

"Survival exercises." came Kakashi's lazy drawl.

"Huh? Survival exercises?" The blonde ninja's eyes were narrow once again as he questioned with genuine confusion.

"But why would that be a mission? Our academy days were full of survival training." Sakura also pondered. Koyuki, as well, began to wonder what Kakashi had in store for them.

"But you'll have to survive… against me. It won't be your typical practice." The jonin spoke slowly.

"Well then, what kind of practice will it be?" Naruto urged.

The teacher's eye seemed to close as he stifled a low chuckle.

Koyuki's mouth twitched and her mouth lowered as she gazed at her sensei wordlessly, wondering. _What are you planning Kakashi…?_

"What are you laughing about, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked with a slight air of annoyance.

Kakashi's eye was curved into its reassuring, cheerfulness as he waved his hand in front of him, "Oh, nothing. It's just that if I told you, you'd chicken out."

"Chicken out? Why!?" Naruto demanded.

Kakashi raised his hand to his face, looking through his parted fingers with a focused gaze, "Out of the twenty-eight members of your graduating class, only ten will actually be accepted as junior-level shinobi. The other eighteen must go back for more training. The test we are about to perform has a sixty-six percent rate of failure."

A bead of sweat collectively trailed down the faces of team seven. Koyuki fought against the bubble of defensive retorts she wanted to give Kakashi.

Kakashi crinkled his eye as he sneered, "Hahaha! See? You're chickening out already!"

Cue, exaggerated outrage from the fox-whiskered blonde.

"That sucks! We have been through it all! What about the graduation test!?"

Kakashi said in a straightforward manner, "Oh, we wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential, or not."

"Say what!?"

Kakashi continued, "In any case, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all of your ninja tools and weapons, and don't have breakfast beforehand… unless you enjoy throwing up."

Koyuki mutely shook her head as she tried to control the twitch of a smirk that was threatening to surface.  
_Don't eat breakfast, huh? I'm not falling for that. _Koyuki thought to herself, slightly amused.

Kakashi lifted himself off the rail and walked towards his team, handing them a slip of paper, "The details of your assignment are in this handout. Memorize it, and don't be late!"

Koyuki grasped the paper handed to her, quickly looking over the fine penmanship that is her sensei's handwriting. To her right, she heard the sound of paper being crumpled, her eyes darted briefly and saw that Sasuke didn't even bother reading the handout.

She and the rest of the team stood up, ready to departure and go about the rest of their day.

"Koyuki, may I have a word before you leave?" the older shinobi requested.

She didn't reply immediately, instead she studied her teacher. And Kakashi's face took on a gentle, yet serious disposition. There was something in his eyes that seemed to regard her carefully before he spoke, "It's important." He added, focusing a sincere gaze at his cautious student.

"Sure." The young Mikoto answered quietly.

The rest of the team's attention wandered to Koyuki, wondering why her presence with him was urgent. They nonetheless went their own separate ways.

Koyuki pushed her hands into her pockets as Kakashi motioned her to sit back on the steps, resting an arm on his raised leg. For a moment his eyes scanned across the expanse of the clear blue sky.

Kakashi turned his face to hers, looking down at Koyuki, who seemed to have her mind distractedly adrift somewhere else, but she caught him off guard when she began speaking first, "So, Kakashi, tell me, who was it that decided to assign you to keep an eye on me?"

Kakashi hummed in a sigh, "Mah, you're quite perceptive." the pepper-haired jonin pushed a gloved hand through the front of his vest, "Demo… the answer to that is very simple: it was your otō-san… your father, Kosuke."

The answer caught her off-guard, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose in immediate reaction to the mention of her father's name.

The jonin looked into Koyuki's startled stare and his hand landed on the girl's shoulder.

He continued, "Your father was a dear friend of mine, he asked me, pleaded, if anything were to happen to him or your mother, that I would help raise you, nurture your skills, and protect you from uncertain danger as you grow into a fine young kunoichi."

His eyes would soften, "Although… you can recall, that I nearly failed to do even that five years ago…" His voice was quiet, sounding absurdly nostalgic and dreadful.

Koyuki watched as her wizened-looking teacher's visible eye curl into what looked like a weak smile.

"Incidentally, the Hokage-sama, as well as Homura and Koharu of the village council, recommended that I should monitor your progress and keep you safe from that point on, if such a situation were to happen again."

Koyuki said nothing, the expression on her face was unreadable, but he instinctively knew, that she was annoyed at his words.

"I know you don't like the idea," The gray-haired jonin started saying, his face titled forward as his eye curled into a half-moon, "you have proven yourself to be quite capable of protecting yourself from adept-level shinobi, I'm only respecting your father's last request, he loved you very much, it's only natural to want to protect the people you care about until your last dying breath…"

Her face suddenly lost all its sullenness and an air of sincerity changed her features. She took in a breath, her mouth opened, and then she looked away and her hands dropped to her lap, limply, as if the weight of regret pressed down on her.

Kakashi felt his heart reach out to her, because he knew what it was like.

So long ago in the grass village, he had grieved for the loss of his comrade, Obito. It was immensely painful. The kind of agony that stole your breath and choked you till your vision went black and you were falling into the endless pit of loss self-control.

Kakashi crinkled his eye charmingly, as he looked at his student, "Hm. In fact, I can easily see you as a daughter of my own… I guess I've grown on you."

The jonin watched as the curl of her mouth broke out into a beautiful smile, one that he had never seen before and he found his heart equally beginning to swell with adoration for her.

"Kakashi," Koyuki started to say, giving him a smirk, "You really outta read something else besides that smut _Icha-Icha Paradise_. It's making you all mushy."

The copy-ninja gave her an offensive, blank stare, but was replaced with one of softness when he heard Koyuki's light-hearted laugh, regarding him with one of her rare, amusing grins.  
Even though his mouth was concealed underneath the mask, she could tell he was smiling.

He lifted his body off the steps, and Koyuki looked up to find Kakashi holding out one gloved hand. The genin grabbed it firmly and her teacher pulled her up.

The gray-haired jonin put a lazy hand to his peppered-hair and said, "Ido… take care, I'll see you tomorrow, Koyuki."

"Yeah." Koyuki said with a nod, and watched as Kakashi raised his hand in return and with a hand seal the jonin was gone.

Her bright silver and black hair rustled with the sudden depart, and she watched the twirl of leaves and dust dancing along the spot where he had disappeared.

The sun danced lower over the trees, and the girl could tell it was now close to evening.

She dipped her head against the shove of the wind and jumped on the railing surrounding the rooftop, crossing her arms around her chest.  
_Now_, she thought as her amethyst eyes swept the Hidden Leaf village, _my life as a genin… finally begins._


End file.
